



w, 



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MEMORIAL 



OF THE 



LIFE AND SERVICES 



OF 



John D. Philbrick 



EDITED BY 

LARKIN DUNTON, LL.D. 

HEAD MASTEK OF THE BOSTON NORMAL SCHOOL 



BOSTON 
NEW ENGLAND PUBLISHING COMPANY 

1888 



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THO Mrs. Julia A. Philbrick, — 

Whose wifely devotion and wise counsel comforted 
and strengthened her honored husband, and whose kindly 
and intelligent interest in education won the hearts of 
teachers, this volume is respectfully dedicated by 

The Editor. 



" Be ashamed to die without having accom- 
plished SOME VICTORY FOR HUMANITY - ." 

— Horace Mann. 



PREFACE. 



This volume is intended to be what its title implies, 
— a memorial of the life and services of him whom it 
commemorates. It is not meant to be in any sense a 
biography. Soon after the death of Dr. Philbrick, the 
desire was often manifested that the expressions of 
honor and esteem which had been called out on the 
occasion should be put into some form for permanent 
preservation. The death of no other educational man 
in this country has produced so profound and general 
a sense of personal loss ; for no other has been so 
well and so favorably known, and no other has left 
so strong an impress upon his age. It was not till he 
had been called to his reward, that the deep respect in 
which he was held, and the feelings of warm personal 
friendship with which he was regarded, found full 
expression. 

Then, naturally, his more intimate friends wished to 
have the evidence of the love and honor which he had 
won preserved to the world. The present volume is 
an attempt to gratify that desire. It contains the ad- 
dresses delivered at a public meeting held in Boston in 
his honor, a single paper from the pen of Dr. Philbrick 
himself, an account of his last sickness and death, the 
addresses at his funeral and at his final interment, 
some of the eulogistic letters written to the public 
press on the occasion of his death, the tributes paid 



v i PREFACE. 



to his memory by the Boston Masters' Association, the 
Schoolmasters' Club, and the School Committee of 
Boston, an account of the public memorial meeting in 
Boston, a letter from the Japanese minister to the United 
States, and resolutions adopted by various associations to 
which he was favorably known. 

The addresses at the Boston meeting include an ac- 
count of Dr. Philbrick's early life and education, by 
his friend, Gilman H. Tucker, of New York ; an ac- 
count of his educational work in Boston, by the editor, 
and an estimate of his services to the cause of educa- 
tion in general by Dr. William T. Harris. From these 
addresses alone a stranger would be able to form a cor- 
rect opinion of the man. 

The paper selected to represent Dr. Philbrick him- 
self is his address before the American Institute of In- 
struction, July, 1884, entitled, " Reform of Tenure of 
Office of Teachers." This was a subject in which he 
had long taken a deep interest, and it was this address 
that did much to secure favorable action upon the subject 
by the legislature of Massachusetts in 1886. 

The papers and addresses contained in the volume 
constitute an honorable memorial to a noble man. If 
they assist in extending and perpetuating his memory, 
the editor's labor of love in preparing them for the press 
will be amply rewarded. 

Boston, August, 1887. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 
Early Life and Education. Tucker, .... 2 

Life and Character, Dmiton, 31 

Public Services, Harris, 57 

Reform of the Tenure of Office of Teachers, Philbrick, 81 

Last Days and Funeral Rites, Dunton, . . . 101 

Address of Rev. Charles B. Rice, . . .106 

Address of Dr. Spaulding, . . . . 108 

Address of Daniel B. Hagar, . . . .in 

Address of Larkin Dunton, . . . . 113 

Letter from John G. Whittier, 115 

Letter from Gen. John Eaton, . . . 115 

The Final Interment, 116 

Address by Gilman H. Tucker, . . . 118 

Eulogistic Letters : 123 

E. E. White, I24 

William T. Harris, 126 



viii CONTENTS. 

Eulogistic Letters : p AGE 

John G. Whittier, 128 

John Eaton, . . . . . . .128 

John S. Clark, ...... 132 

Gilman H. Tucker, 135 

Thomas H. Barnes, . . . . . 138 

Samuel W. Mason, 140 

J. L. Pickard, 142 

Robert C. Metcalf, 142 

Mary A. Currier, 144 

Justin H. Smith, 145 

John W. Dickinson, . . . . . 147 

Mellin Chamberlain, . . . . . .150 

William A. Mowry, . 152 

Moses Merrill, . ..... 155 

Samuel Eliot, 157 

A. A. Miner, 160 

O. B. Cheney, 162 

Hiram Orcutt, 164 

H. F. Harrington, 166 

A. P. Marble, 167 

Henry E. Shepherd, 168 

A. P. Stone, 170 

E. C. Carrigan, 171 

J. H. Hoose, 175 

W. H. Payne, 176 

International Tribute, .180 



CONTENTS. ix 

Page 
Boston's Tribute, . . . . . . . 185 

The Masters' Association, . . . .187 

Address of C. Goodwin Clark, . . 188 

Address of Robert Swan, .... 192 

Address of Joshua Bates, . . . 196 

Resolutions, . . . • . -203 

The Schoolmaster's Club, . . . . 204 

Address of James F. Blackinton, . .204 

Address of Granville B. Putnam, . . 206 

Resolutions, . . . . . .210 

The School Committee, 211 

Public Memorial Services, . . . .212 

Address of Edwin P. Seaver, . . „ 213 

Letter of the Japanese Minister, . . 215 

Miscellaneous Resolutions, 219 

Department of Superintendence of the National 

Educational Association, . . . .219 

Trustees of the Philbrick -James Library, . 220 

Teachers of Denver, 221 

Quincy School Association, . . . . 222 

Trustees of Bates College, .... 224 

Town of Deerfield, 224 



Early Life and Education 
of 



JOHN DUDLEY PHILBRICK. 



By Gilman H. Tucker. 



Early Life and Education 



OF 



JOHN DUDLEY PHILBRICK 



BIRTH, PARENTAGE, AND ANCESTRY. 

The "Early Life and Education" of John Dudley 
Philbrick contain the material, which, in the hands of a 
master, would enrich a romance. But with plain speech, 
and within a brief space, only the simplest and chiefest 
facts can be recited. 

He was born on the twenty-seventh day of May, in the 
year eighteen hundred and eighteen. He always marked 
his birthday by the time of the apple-tree blossoms, which 
his father had told him were, in this day and year, at 
their fulness. He was the youngest in a family of three 
children, having a sister three years older and a brother a 
year and a half older than himself. 

The Philbricks were of a sturdy race of handworkers, 
possessed of that strength and resolution which come 
from battling with obstacles. Starting out as pioneers 
in subduing a new country, all their powers were taxed 
in winning a subsistence from the soil, and laying by a 
modest competency for their families. Primarily farmers, 
the necessities of living in a new country made them 

(3) 



4 JOIIN D. miLBBICE. 

at the same time carpenters, blacksmiths, and workers 
in all needed handicraft. They were independent and 
self-respecting men, but not otherwise distinguished. 

Peter Philbrick, the father of John Dudley, was of the 
third generation which had occupied the homestead farm 
in Deerfield, N. H., his grandfather, James, having gone 
there and taken up and cleared the wild land, in the first 
settlement of the town. Peter was a man of individual 
character, possessing strong moral qualities and an active 
intellect, with a decided religious tendency in his nature, 
and a touch of humor and poetry withal. From his spir- 
ituality and power of natural eloquence, he became a 
loader and exhorting Elder in his church, the Free Will 
Baptist. In his homestead he possessed a fair country 
inheritance, but it was burdened with a debt, through 
some sharpness and dishonesty that had been practiced 
upon his predecessor. He was an industrious, energetic, 
and hard-working farmer, but not a thrifty manager, and 
his devotion to preaching sometimes diverted him from 
the closest attention to his farm. 

With the hope of bettering his situation, he made 
several removes, locating one year at Epping, another 
at Stratham, and another at Amesbury, Mass., — when 
John was from ten to thirteen years of age, — with hardly 
any other result than enlarging the family horizon, when 
they again returned to the homestead. 

On the maternal side, through his mother, Elizabeth 
Dudley, he came of a line of strong and fine intellectual 
fibre. The Dudleys were prominent in the Eastern Col- 
onies from the first settlement of New England, as gov- 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 5 

ernors, judges, ministers, and lawyers. Mr. Philbrick 
was the seventh generation in direct descent, from Gov. 
Thomas Dudley of Massachusetts. His great-grand- 
father, Judge John Dudley of New Hampshire, for whom 
he was named, famous in that State during the period 
of the Revolution, was one of the most pronounced char- 
acters of his time, — of unswervable integrity, of deter- 
mined will, of clear foresight, of broad views and sound 
judgment. He was not a learned man, nor much read 
in books, but Governor Plummer of New Hampshire said 
of him that he would sooner trust Judge Dudley's native 
faculties to decide a legal point right, than all the law- 
yers' learning of the other judges put together. 

His grandfather, Moses Dudley, was a remarkable type 
of the New England country 'Squire of seventy-five years 
ago, — wise after the manner of Ben Franklin, — who 
gave the last forty years of his life entirely to the study 
and reading of books. It was estimated that he had read 
the equal of 6,000 octavo volumes of 400 pages each ; 
and his daily conversation showed the fruits of this great 
enrichment. 

His mother was a woman of strong mind, well in- 
formed, with a determined will, with definite opinions 
and the power of expressing them, touched also with an 
honest pride of family and with an ambition for position. 

Such was the descent and parentage of John Dudley 
Philbrick, and he inherited the best and strongest quali- 
ties of both lines of his ancestors. In his character, there 
was never a better illustration of the logic of heredity. 

Deerfield, N. H., lies thirty miles from the coast and 



6 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

well within the belt of hill country. This whole region 
is more attractive and picturesque than it is fertile, or 
productive under cultivation. Nevertheless it is a pleas- 
ant country to live in ; but to live, one must work, and 
the bounds of social and intellectual life, as in all rural 
towns, are rather narrow. The religious and political 
newspaper, a few common books, neighborhood visits 
and gatherings, occasional visits to the market-towns, the 
town meeting, the schools and church meetings, repre- 
sent about all. 

In this town, in the midst of one of its loveliest valleys, 
amid surrounding trees, and facing the south, stands the 
Philbrick homestead, a large main house, made still more 
ample by the additions of different generations. My per- 
sonal recollections of it, from the merest boy up to this 
hour, clothe it with one supreme virtue, — the warm 
and generous hospitality which it always extended to all 
comers. 

These were the surroundings and this the home of this 
boy of fifty and sixty years ago. 

But here, at this time, the life of a farmer's boy, 
possessed of imagination and spirit, doubtless, did not 
seem to the boy to be an ideal one. Yet if somewhat 
narrow, and unquestionably hard, it held some compen- 
sation. It was an open, free, country life, everywhere 
adapting itself to direct the forces of nature to the uses 
and comforts of living. On the side of work and on the 
side of play, it was full of education ; it made ingenious 
hands, strong arms, swift feet, muscular and well-devel- 
oped bodies. There was no question here of introducing 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 1 

the new educational factor, industrial training ; the thing 
itself was present in never-ending forms, — the spring's 
work, the summer's work, the fall and winter's work. 
When the spring sun began to run high and the fields of 
snow to melt, the maples were to be tapped and the 
season's sugar made ; then miles of fence were to be re- 
paired, and the rocks to be picked and hauled from the 
cultivated fields ; then the dressing was to be hauled and 
spread upon the land, to be followed by the busy plowing, 
sowing, and planting. The sheep were to be washed 
and sheared, providing the wool for home-spinning and 
weaving, — for the women made all the woolen cloth for 
clothes, and a surplus to carry and sell in distant markets. 
The cattle, the horses, the swine, the chickens and tur- 
keys were a constant care. Then commenced the hand 
to hand contest to keep back the weeds with the hoe, 
until early July left the crops with a little start in their 
favor, if rain and sun should be kind. 

Then came the midsummer harvest of haying, with no 
machines to lighten the labor, — mowing, spreading, rak- 
ing, pitching, hauling, and stowing away, — every stroke 
one of main strength ; work-days that began before sun- 
rise, and ended with the late dusk of midsummer, — all 
this for five or six weeks, interrupted only by lowering or 
rainy weather. Then came cutting the stalks from the 
corn, reaping the grain with the sickle, gathering and 
husking the corn, digging and housing the potatoes, 
gathering the apples, and making the cider ; and the 
autumn ended with making all the buildings tight and 
snug for the winter. 



8 J011N D. PHILBBICK. 

In the winter, the season's wood was to be cut and 
hauled home, and occasionally, logs to be hauled to the 
saw-mill for boards and lumber, for home use or for the 
market, — all these things, with the endless daily chores 
of a farm. 

It is at once seen, that being in the midst of a life like 
this, early makes a man out of a boy. 

But there were recreations also : a day off fishing or 
gunning, a trip to the country store, a journey to the 
market town, a visit to relations or friends, and long win- 
ter evenings for reading and talk. 

There was also a quiet factor at work, the most impor- 
tant of all, and that was the district school ; this kept 
three months in the summer and three months in the 
winter. The boy attended both until he was so large he 
could no longer be spared from the summer's work, and 
then went only in winter. But, in the country phrase, 
" he was a good scholar and loved his books." 

And with this education, at sixteen years of age, he 
was a man. 

ACADEMIC LIFE. 

But what is there for him beyond this narrow bound 
of his home ? Where is the opening through which the 
light can shine ? 

To quote his own words : — 

" This privilege of going away to school at an academy 
seemed to be something too high for me ever to dream of 
enjoying, But in the spring of 1834 some one suggested 
that I should go to Pembroke Academy, and thus the 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 9 

question was proposed, — Shall I stop with my common 
school education, or try to get a higher education ? I saw 
the great difficulty of leaving home, for now I was as good 
as a man on the farm ; besides, where was the money to 
come from to pay the expenses ? I did not then imagine 
it to be possible for me ever to reach the college. But 
the idea of acquiring an education above that of a com- 
mon school, found lodgment in my mind, and the idea 
must become a reality. A young uncle, though six or 
seven years older than myself, was going to Pembroke to 
complete his fitting for college. He was to board him- 
self, and kindly offered to take me into the partnership. 
This fortunate circumstance turned the scale in my favor. 
My father, who had hesitated to give his consent, not that 
he did not value education but that he valued my assist- 
ance on the farm also, seeing that the opportunity was 
too good to be lost, yielded, though reluctantly and sadly. 
I remember the day well. My father, leaving the team 
standing in the furrow, came into the house to hold a 
family conference. It must be settled then, for the tai- 
loress was there, and if it was decided in the affirmative, 
she must be retained to make up the needed garments. 
My mother said yes, though with some apparent mis- 
givings." 

Thus, at sixteen years of age, he went to Pembroke, 
N. H., for his first term at the Academy. In the four 
following years he managed to get five or six terms, or 
parts of terms, of twelve to fourteen weeks, at this school, 
and one term at Strafford Academy. Between whiles, he 
returned to the help of his father on the farm, rendered 
now all the more necessary from the untimely loss of 
his elder brother, Peter, who died in 1835. This bereave- 
ment left a deep and sorrowful mark on his early life. 



10 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

The brothers were very near of an age, and constant 
playmates and workmates. This brother was uncom- 
monly brighl and of a lovely character. Through Life 
Mr. Philbrick never ceased to monrn this loss, and its 
anniversary was always a sad day to him. By this blow 
he became now his father's only dependence, and the 
difficulty of his absence was accordingly increased, but 
he still persevered in his course. 

His name appears in the Pembroke catalogues of [834 
and 1835, in thai of Strafford in [836, nowhere in 1837, 

but again in the Pembroke catalogue of 1838. But he 
was present at these schools only at odd terms. 

Pembroke Academy, at this time, was a flourishing 
and excellent higher seminary, and, with the exception of 
Phillips Academy at Exeter, one of the best schools in 
New Hampshire. Its catalogue of 1834, a little pam- 
phlet of eight pages, as big over as your hand, contains 
176 names, divided, to use its own words, into " 108 
Males and 68 Females." It contains no regular course 
of study, but names the books, in their order to be 
studied in preparation I'm "college. It divides the year into 
three terms, two of fourteen weeks each and one of six- 
teen weeks. The fee for a certificate of admission is 25 
cents. The tuition for the two shorter terms is $4.25, 
and for the longer term $4.87, with an additional dollar 
each term to each scholar who studies the French lan- 
guage. The price of board is #1.25 or $1.50 per week, 
but by walking a moderate distance from the Academy 
students can be boarded for a less sum. 

The catalogues for 1835 and 1836 are substantially the 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 11 

same. During these three years Joseph Dow was princi- 
pal. The catalogues of 1837 and 1838, when Isaac Kins- 
man became principal, show a marked educational ad- 
vance ; three-year courses of study are laid out, term 
by term, both for the Male and Female Departments. 
Some very pertinent observations are made under the 
head of studies and courses. It is interesting to quote a 
bit of its plain English : — 

"The examination of compositions and the rehearsals 
of declamations will each constitute a daily recitation. 
The whole school will not attend these recitations to- 
gether as a class, but in succession, four or five individ- 
uals at a time. Each composition will be read by the 
teacher, with the writer by his side. It will be scruti- 
nized word by word and sentence by sentence. All its 
superfluities and misconceptions, and, so far as possible, 
its deficiencies will be pointed out. In oratory, the 
scholar will be drilled. Tone, inflection, emphasis, 
position, motion, if faulty, will be criticised on the spot." 

Mr. Kinsman was a thorough and an inspiring teacher, 

and as such exerted at this time and afterwards no little 

influence over the young student, Philbrick. But the 

main motive which led him to persevere at the academy, 

and to go on to college, was the same which first started 

him in this direction, — the sympathy and encouragement 

of the maternal uncle, whom he mentions. This uncle, 

in writing to his sister, Mr. Philbrick's mother, in 1838, 

says : — 

" I am extremely glad that John has manifested so 
much determination and decision in pursuing his educa- 
tion ; you can do nothing for him, in my opinion, which 



12 JOHN D. PniLBRICK. 

will be of so much real and substantial benefit to him in 
after life, and for which he will ever hold you in so grate- 
ful remembrance, as to assist and encourage him in this 
course. He must enter college this fall without fail ; if 
he goes in debt a few hundred dollars, don't be scared ; 
he will be able if he has his health, in one or two years at 
most, to clear himself." 

The debt of gratitude to this uncle, Elbridge G. Dudley, 
afterward a lawyer in this city, was never forgotten. 

Writing to his father from Pembroke, May 2, 1835, he 
says he appreciates the valuable privileges there enjoyed 
of intellectual and moral education, but is aware that they 
will not always last, and that, as his father is doubtless 
impatiently awaiting his return, he is using every ex- 
ertion to accomplish what he can in the little time he 
has to stay. Writing later, he says he regrets that time 
should fly so swiftly, and that he has so short a time to 
remain. It appears that this term of his school was to 
close, July 30, and his father had expected him to return 
home by the Fourth of July, to assist with the haying. 
In a letter he pleads to be allowed to remain, if not the 
whole term, at least until the nth, and says he has good 
reason to hope that this request will not be denied him. 

Such was the continual struggle which covered these 
four years. An odd term or a part of a term at the acad- 
emy was had, when he could be released from helping at 
home, and when a little ready money for expenses could 
be gathered together. To provide a part of this money, he 
at this time spent his winters in teaching in the district 
schools of his own neighborhood. In teaching one of 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 13 

these schools he boarded round. One winter he taught 
in his home district, where he had lately been a pupil. 
These schools were attended by the large boys and girls, 
as well as by the smaller of all ages, and he had pupils 
as old as or older than himself. I have heard those who 
were pupils at this school, old men now of seventy, within 
the past year, tell what a good school he kept and how 
much he was liked as a master. One told me how he 
would go out and take part with the boys in the sports, 
at noon or recess, and how on one occasion he acci- 
dentally got a hard hit over the eye with a snowball, 
so that the eye had to be bandaged for the afternoon. 
" But," said the old man, " he made nothing of it ; I 
tell you, we liked him." 

In 1837 he does not appear to have gone away to 
school at all ; but he taught in the winter of 1 836-1 837, 
in the adjoining town of Nottingham. An old pupil from 
this place, whom he scarcely remembered, writes to him 
fourteen years after : " Your memory is still dear to the 
citizens of this district; the school has not flourished 
since as it did while you were here. Often do I hear 
your evening school and exhibition spoken of ; they left a 
deep and abiding impression on the hearts of all who 
attended them." 

In June of this year, 1837, he wrote his uncle saying 
he had not attended school a single day, not having 
found any opportunity to leave home ; that it was a source 
of great anxiety to him that he had been able to make so 
little progress in literary pursuits, because, he added, " I 
fear I shall not be able to keep the promise I made you. 



14 JOHN I). P II IL BRICK. 

I feel unwilling to lose so good an opportunity to go to 
college. For that reason I have been trying to do all I 
could at home, but I have labored with only a faint hope 
of success. I am determined, however, to persevere in the 
study of the languages till I see you, when I hope the 
affair will be settled. Cicero and Sallust, I think with a 
little study I can handle, but Virgil and the Greek 
Reader will go rather hard." 

LIF£ AT COLLEGE. 

And he did "persevere," and his "faint hope of suc- 
cess " became a hope realized. At twenty years of age, 
in August, 1838, he successfully presented himself for 
admission to Dartmouth College. This was a proud day 
for the struggling student. He says in a letter written 
at the time : " I went to the president and applied for 
admission. I was immediately admitted to examination 
on presenting my recommendation, and was directed to 
two professors, to have the business "done up." Latin 
went easy, as well as Algebra, but Greek did not go quite 
so smooth, though my examination was on the whole by 
no means a severe one. I, of course, had to promise to 
make up that part of the Greek Reader I had not read, 
and also the four Gospels. The others from Pembroke 
had to do the same." 

He at once set about to procure lodgings, and writes 
that he and his roommate have two very delightful 
rooms, one of which they used for a sleeping-room, 
clothes-press, and woodhouse, and the other for a study- 
room. For their furniture they paid twelve dollars, 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 15 

having determined to get that which was decent and 
durable. The price of board is $1.58 per week, or, with- 
out tea and coffee, $1.42. He states that he is highly 
pleased with his situation, and that his most sanguine 
expectations are fully realized, and even far excelled. 
He describes his routine of study, and says a college is 
the place to learn. Here there are no impediments and 
every necessary facility ; if the same prosperity which 
has now dawned, continues, his college course will be a 
happy one, and if he is permitted to go through, it will 
be the May-day of his life. 

He entered a freshman class of 101, the largest the 
college had, up to that time, seen. The class con- 
tained many bright young men, most of whom had been 
much more thoroughly prepared than himself. Here he 
remained throughout the course, availing himself, how- 
ever, of the permission to be absent winters for the 
purpose of teaching. These absences were, however, 
sometimes prolonged in his case, by cutting off from the 
end of the fall term or the beginning of the spring term. 
By the money earned in this teaching and by small loans 
he procured from time to time, he paid his own way 
throughout the course. The college expenses at that 
time were not heavy. I observe that those which were 
classed as necessary, not including contingent, are fixed 
in the catalogue of 1838, at $106.24. But there were 
many contingent expenses, amounting to more, per- 
haps, than the amount named. In these he practiced 
the 'strictest economy. He traveled back and forth 
from home sometimes by stage, sometimes by private 



16 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

conveyance, and often walked long distances to make 
these connections. His clothes were made at home, 
usually out of store cloth, which had been procured by 
his mother's exchanging homespun of her own make, by 
carrying it for this purpose thirty miles to a market town. 

At this time Dr. Nathan Lord was president of Dart- 
mouth College, a man known for his strong character and 
wide scholarship ; and there was an uncommonly able 
corps of professors, many of them excellent teachers ; 
Charles B. Hadduck, Alpheus Crosby, Ira Young, Edwin 
D. Sanborn, O. P. Hubbard, Stephen Chase, and Samuel 
Gilman Brown. 

He had entered college with the highest appreciation 
of its advantages ; the struggle to reach its doors had been 
long, difficult, and uncertain. He knew what it had cost 
to get there, he knew how much it would cost to remain, 
and therefore he valued it. He was determined to make 
the best use of its every opportunity. He brought with 
him health, energy, industry, perseverance, courage, and 
ambition ; and as a solid basis for these, integrity and 
every strong moral quality. What followed was a matter 
of course ; he was a thorough and faithful student, always 
acquitting himself well in the recitation room, and pres- 
ent at every required exercise. 

He also availed himself of every privilege outside of 
the mere routine. He was active in the literary societies, 
frequently writing and speaking, and especially ambitious 
to excel in these respects. In the time left over, he pur 
sued a "thorough course of reading, embracing chiefly 
history, romance, and poetry. This reading he followed 



EAELY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 17 

up with continuous assiduity in his lengthened absences 
from the college. 

He was by no means indifferent to such recreations 
and athletic sports as then prevailed among the students. 
His favorite recreation was walking, for which the coun- 
try surrounding the college is so inviting ; and he made 
many excursions among its hills and valleys. In the warm 
season, swimming in the adjacent Connecticut River was 
one of the college pastimes, and he became an adept in 
this art. It is noted by one of his classmates that in 
swimming a mile stretch, though taken with the cramp, 
he refused to be taken into the accompanying boat, but 
" kicked it out." He took pleasure in the military com- 
pany organized among the students, and from his love of 
obedience and discipline and his inclination to command, 
always had a fondness for this service. He was inter- 
ested also in politics, and near the end of his course 
was elected president of the college democratic club. 

He was an actor in a dramatic incident, which occurred 
near the close of his junior fall, in the presidential 
election of 1840. He was now 22 years of age, an 
ardent democrat, but had never voted. He determined 
at this time to cast his first ballot. To do this he re- 
turned from Hanover to Deerfield, a distance of seventy- 
five miles by stage, leaving on the last day of October 
and arriving at Concord, on his way, at half-past one 
o'clock the same night. He at once set out alone on 
foot for Deerfield, still twenty miles distant, meeting, as 
he says, the rising sun on the summit of Prescott's Hill, 
four miles away, and arriving at home just in season for 



18 JOHN D. PHIL BRICK. 

breakfast. The election was next clay, and he was on 
hand. Party spirit ran high, and the voting list was 
closely scrutinized by both sides. There was at that 
time living with his father, as a cheap hired hand, an 
ignorant but fairly intelligent fellow, named Francis York. 
He had been brought up in the poorhouse of an adjoin- 
ing town, but for the past eight years had been self-sup- 
porting. The Whig magnate of Deerfield, a lawyer of 
distinguished family and influence, overawed the select- 
men, and induced them to strike York's name from the 
voting list, on the ground that he was a town pauper. 
Upon this, young Philbrick stepped up and protested 
against the act. Amid the great crowd of assembled 
voters he spoke for eight or ten minutes, with an ear- 
nestness that filled them with astonishment. York's 
name was quickly restored to the list. John went back 
home, brought York to the town meeting, and saw that 
he deposited his vote. 

"To-day," said he, "has been the most glorious day of 
my life. I have emancipated a man and defended his 
rights." 

On the whole he stood high at college as a man and 
scholar, — among the first, — but was not distinguished 
otherwise than for his sterling qualities. One of his 
classmates writes that he was not so conspicuous in any 
respect, compared with the average of his class, as to lead 
to expectations of his career of distinction. He was un- 
assuming, prompt in his exercises, doing justice to the 
subject and credit to himself, writes another classmate. 
Another says he was a resolute, plucky fellow, and upon 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 19 

an attempt made to haze his roommate by some of the 
sophomores, when he was a freshman, his assailants went 
down stairs very much in a hurry, followed by sundry 
billets of wood, and very much worsted. I may add that 
when this incursion of four masked and cloaked soph- 
omores was made into his room, he was engaged in 
writing a letter home, which letter I have seen. With 
the few minutes' interruption necessary to put out the 
intruders and throw them down stairs, he calmly resumed 
his writing, with as firm a hand as ever, only incidentally 
mentioning this little disturbance, and saying that he 
" pounced upon these fellows like an eagle upon his 
prey." 

Another classmate writes : " The most marked charac- 
teristics of all which I remember were his ambition and 
energy ; the former trait led me once to say to him that 
I thought nothing but the presidency of the United 
States would satisfy him. There was the same enthu- 
siasm in everything that he undertook at that time that 
he showed in all his after life. Firm in his opinions and 
tenacious of his rights, he had also exceeding good-nature 
and kindness of heart." 

His classmate, the Hon. George Walker, now and for a 
long time, United States Consul General at Paris, in an 
interesting letter, states : " I remember him particularly 
well as a steady, studious man of high character and 
dignified manners. I have the impression that he was 
a good scholar. I should say that he was a man who 
was always growing, never rapidly, but assimilating what 
he learned, and becoming every year that I knew him 
stronger and more capable of useful work." 



20 JOHN />. PH1LBBICK. 

Another classmate, Dr. J. Baxter Upham, writes : 
"Everything he did, was well and thoroughly done. He 
was a ready speaker and an excellent writer, a good 
scholar, one of the best in the division in which we were 
together. lie was also noted for his honor, integrity, 
.iikI straightforwardness. He would not stoop to do a 
low or mean thing. He also had pluck, boldness, and 
courage, though he was as gentle and kind as he was 
brave." 

His senior year in college was very much shortened by 
his prolonged absences for teaching. He left Dartmouth, 
as he records, early in November of his senior year, with- 
out leave or license, and did not. return until the last day 
of the following May. On presenting his excuse tc the 
president for this extended absence, he states that it was 
immediately accepted and no questions asked. What that 
excuse was we can readily infer: it was the necessity of 
earning his own way. Still under this pressure for funds, 
even now immediately upon his return to college, he was 
casting about for a location to teach after he should 
graduate. 

It should be said here in explanation of the extreme 
pressure he felt for earning money, that he not only 
supported himself at school and college, but helped his 
sister to obtain a liberal education, and was so keenly 
sensitive to his filial obligations, that from time to time 
he provided his father with help upon the farm to com- 
pensate for his own necessary absence. Indeed, it was 
"the custom of the country" for boys to help, and not 
be helped ; and money was much more scarce, valuable, 
and hard to get than it is now. 



EABL7 LIFE AND EDUCATION. '1\ 

His mind at this time, as the end of his college course 
was approaching, was filled with thoughts and plans for the 
future. His determination and onfident expectation 

from the time he lust went away l<» school up to I In- 
close of his senior year in college, had been to study and 
pursue the profession of the law ; indeed, al tins time he 

had already begun its earnesl reading. Returning home 

from his senior fall, he makes this note on the eleventh 

of November, 1841 : — 

"This eveniii" I kindled a lire in the west room, filled 
my lamp, seated myself in grandfather's old armchair, 
and commenced in earnest the study of my profession, by 
reading the forty-fourth chapter of Gibbon's Rome, which 
treats of Roman jurisprudence." 

This studyof fin- law he continued in the leisure hours 
from his teaching for several years after quitting college, 
reading all of the elementary and many of the advam 1 d 
treatises on this science. I'nt though better qualified 

than most applicants, he never SOUght admission to the 
Bar. He did not, however, give up the idea of following 
this profession, for which he had a strong inclination and 
many marked qualifications, but fully intended to pursue 
it, until he bei ame master of the Quincy School, in 1047. 
But to return to his outlook from college at the close 
of his course. His mind was full of projects J lie had a 
strong inclination to go I" Virginia, or some part of the 

South. He was offered the Yarmouth Academy on Cape 
Cod; he was invited to share the management of the 
Gymnasium, at Pembroke, by Mi. Kinsman, He con- 
sidered the plan of starting a high school in his native 



22 JOHN D. PniLBEICK. 

town. The thing that he most wanted to do was to con- 
tinue his study of the law, and his plan for this was to 
enter the office of Franklin Pierce, at Concord, N. H. 

Everything had to give way, however, to the pressing 
and immediate need for funds, and he chose the most 
promising opening in this respect. Through the friends 
he had made at Danvers, Mass., he was now offered a 
position as assistant in a private institution, the Roxbury, 
Mass., Latin School, which he at once accepted. It is 
curious to note that his ancestor, Governor Thomas 
Dudley, was one of the chief founders of this school in 
1645. Following the matter up immediately, that the 
place might be secured beyond contingency, he left 
Dartmouth on the last day of June, having remained 
there in his senior summer just one month. His last 
year in college, therefore, consisted of an attendance 
there of about three months only. Under the rules, 
owing to these absences, he could not graduate with his 
class, but by making up the deficient studies, he was 
accorded an examination at the next Commencement, 
and given a diploma of the date of his class. 

MR. PniLBRICK'S EARLY EXPERIENCE IN TEACHING. 

On the principle that one learns by doing, a very im- 
portant part of Mr. Philbrick's education came from the 
relation where he was teacher instead of pupil. As we 
have seen, during the course of his preparation for col- 
lege, and while there, he taught seven winter district 
schools and one term at an academy. The primary ob- 
ject had in view was to get funds to pay for his own 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 23 

schooling, but the secondary object attained was even 
more important. He was educating himself as well as 
instructing others, and unconsciously bending his mind 
in a direction which led to the final choice of his life 
pursuit. 

He taught first in the intervals of his fragmentary at- 
tendance at the Academy for two or three successive 
winters, in the district schools of the vicinity of his 
home. In his residence at Pembroke Academy, he had 
become acquainted with several members of the family of 
Putnam, who came from Danvers, Mass. Led by this 
acquaintance, and hope of help from it in securing a 
position, he started out at the end of his freshman fall to 
look for a school in this town or its vicinity. He had 
no difficulty in obtaining one through these friends, and 
was engaged to teach in their own district. This same 
school he taught for three successive winters. While 
here, he became acquainted with his fellow teachers in 
Danvers and in the near vicinity, especially at Salem. 
He visited their schools and met them in social meetings, 
finding among them several superior men. In this old 
county in Massachusetts, he found a set of schools of 
much greater excellence than the country schools he had 
been accustomed to in New Hampshire. He was always 
very enthusiastic and devoted to whatever he was en- 
gaged in, and ambitious, as well, to excel in his work. 
His uniform and continuous success in managing and 
instructing inspired him with confidence in his ability, 
and these surroundings afforded every incitement for him 
to do his best. He observed and studied the methods in 



24 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

the best schools which he visited, and by himself striving 
to excel them, became much interested in the subject of 
education itself. Desiring to improve the schools of his 
native town, on his return to it, from these winter expe- 
ditions, he held meetings in the school-houses of the 
different districts, and lectured to the people on the sub- 
ject of common school education, and the last winter of 
his college course, returned to Deerfield to take charge 
of the school in one of the largest districts, that he 
might exemplify the improvements in teaching, which 
he had learned in Massachusetts. At the close of his 
school there in February, 1842, he was invited by Mr. 
Kinsman, his old principal at Pembroke, to take the place 
of assistant in the new Gymnasium there, which Mr. 
Kinsman had started as a secession from the old acad- 
emy. He accepted this position, remaining at Pembroke 
until the last of May, before returning again to college. 
He made so marked a success in this place, that two or 
three years later, upon the place of principal becoming 
vacant, he was invited by the trustees to occupy it, which 
offer, however, he was not able to accept. 

This comprised the whole course of his teaching, while 
he was engaged in his own school and college studies. 
It had aroused his mind to the importance of this pursuit, 
and in becoming a teacher, he had learned the great les- 
son of how to become a student ; and in his associations 
in Essex County, he found himself a part of a teaching 
fraternity, and of a social society, which in intelligence 
and cultivation, exceeded everything in his previous ex- 
perience, and these influences left a deep impression 
upon him. 



EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 25 

It was here too, and in the old and honored family of 
Putnams, that he formed an attachment which had great 
influence for good on his future ; and on the 24th of 
Augusr, 1843, while teaching in Roxbury, he married 
Miss Julia A. Putnam of Danvers. The union proved a 
most happy one, and thus for forty-three years he had the 
cherishing support of a true helpmeet, and the comfort 
and joy of an ideal home. 

TEACHING IN ROXBURY AND BOSTON. 

In any complete account of Mr. Philbrick's education 
and growth, there must be mentioned his first five years 
of teaching in Roxbury and Boston. Beginning as an 
assistant in a private school in Roxbury, upon leaving 
college in 1842, he successively filled various positions, 
always exchanging a good place for a better one, until, 
in 1847, he reached the Mastership of the Quincy School, 
that first united and complete grammar school, which 
marked so important an era in the school system of 
Boston. 

It was not until this time, I think, that he had discov- 
ered his full abilities in the line of education, or had 
appreciated the importance and vastness of this subject, 
and its moral incentives for a high career. 

His intellectual, moral, and social growth during his 
college course had been very great, but during this five- 
year period it was hardly less than marvelous. Coming 
as a young man from the country into the quick intel- 
lectual life of a cultivated city, and by his surroundings 
thrown into congenial and intelligent society, through 



26 JOHN D. PIIILBRICK. 

his keenness and aptness he assimilated all that was 
best. Here he found a new education ; the college had 
enlarged itself into a city, and the city again into a world. 
In his apprenticeship in teaching he owed much to 
Thomas Sherwin, Master of the English High School in 
Boston, where he was for two years as assistant. 

But the one man to whom he owed more than to all 
others, in this time, was Dr. George Putnam, then min- 
ister of the Unitarian Church in Roxbury. The preach- 
ing and teachings of this great man, whose friendship 
and confidence had been secured by the solid and attract- 
ive qualities of this young man, and his influence in 
close personal intercourse, left a deep and lasting impres- 
sion upon Mr. Philbrick's character. The determined 
ambition with which he had started out to pursue and 
obtain the most obvious prizes of life was transformed 
into a lofty ambition to attempt only the most worthy 
objects, and to pursue a course which, first of all, should 
be of benefit to mankind. 

CONCLUSION. 

Thus his love of teaching, his eminent success in it, 
the gradual opening out of its great possibilities, lighted 
up by this new ambition, led him to adopt the profession 
of Education as a life career. 

With his schooling in the little country district, with 
his severe training upon the farm, continuing at intervals 
up to the age of twenty-four ; with his academic life, 
struggled and fought for and obtained in fragments ; 
with his college course, full of patient, industrious, and 



EA11LY LIFE AND EDUCATION. 27 

successful study ; with his eight terms of teaching, 
stretching through nearly as many years ; with his first 
five years of teaching in Roxbury and this city, so full 
of opportunity and culture, — we find him at length 
standing, a young man of twenty-nine, equipped for his 
life work, at the head of the first united grammar school 
in the city of Boston. 

In the ripeness of his manhood he looked back upon 
this formative period of his youth through the fine, ideal 
glow of distance, — its adversities, its struggles, its tri- 
umphs, — as a thing wholly apart from himself; but 
every aspiring youth, — nay, the whole human family of 
children, — was to him the type of this striving boy, 
reaching out for instruction and knowledge, while his was 
the duty to answer this call, by upbuilding and establish- 
ing the wisest methods of a broad education. 



Life and Character 



of 



JOHN DUDLEY PHILBRICK. 



By Larkin Dunton, LL D. 



Life and Character 



OF 



JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 



John Dudley Philbrick was born in Deerfield, New 
Hampshire, May 27, 1818. He was the son of Elder 
Peter Philbrick, a clergyman of the Freewill Baptist 
denomination, and Betsey Dudley. 

He fitted for college at Pembroke Academy, in Pem- 
broke, New Hampshire, with the exception of two terms 
spent in study at Strafford, New Hampshire. He was 
graduated from Dartmouth College in 1842. 

He was a teacher in the Roxbury Latin School, at 
Roxbury, now a part of Boston, in 1842 and 1843. He 
was made a teacher in the English High School in Boston 
in 1844, an d the next year was chosen principal of the 
Mayhew School in Boston, which position he occupied 
till elected master of the then new grammar school in 
Boston, called the Quincy School, in 1847. He served 
as master there from 1847 to 1852. 

During the early years of his teaching in Boston, he 
studied law to some extent, and, contrary to the com- 
monly expressed opinion, it was not till 1847, tne y ear 

(31) 



32 JOHN i>. PHJLBBICK. 

that he t < >< >U charge of the Quincy school, thai he decided 
to adopl educal ion as a profession. 

lie was called from Boston to the State Normal School 
;ii New Britain, Connecticuti and served there as principal 
in [853 and [854 He was superintendent of the public 
schools ol the State oi Connecticul in [855 and [856. 

He was superintendent of the public schools of Boston, 
from December 22, [856, to September 1, 1874, and from 
March i, [875, to March 1, [878. 

He was agenl of the Massachusetts State Board oi 
Education during .1 pari ol [875—1876, in charge of 
the preparation oi the Exhibition oi the Education and 
Science oi ihc State al the Centennial Exposition at 
Philadelphia; Massachusetts Special Commissioner of 
Education, and United States Honorary Commissioner, 
and Member of the International Jury, al the Vienna 
Exposition in [873; and Director of the United States 
Exhibition and Member ol the International Jury, a1 the 
Taiis Exposition, in [878. 

He was at differenl times one of the editors of the 
Massachusetts Teacher. Ele was also editor of the Con- 
necticut Common School Journal for two or three years, 
when employed in thai State. 

The following are among his published works: — An- 
nual Reports oi the Public Schools oi the State ol Con- 
necticut for [855 and 1856; twelve quarterly and thirty- 
three semiannual Reports of the Public Schools ol 

ton, ami several special reports relating to these 
schools, printed in the annual volumes of the Reports 
of the School Committee of Boston from 1S57 to 1878 



LIFE AND CHABACTEB. 33 

inclusive ; the Reports of the Massachusetts State Board 
of Education to the Legislature for the years 1865 and 
1872; Report as Director of the United States Exhi- 
bition at the Paris Exposition of 1878, printed with Re- 
ports of the Commissioner in Chief; article Etats Unis, 
Dictionaire de Pedagogic Paris; several lectures and 
papers printed in the volumes of the American Institute 
of Instruction, of the National Educational Association, 
and circulars of the National Bureau of Education ; 
articles for the Atlantic Monthly and North American 
Review, 1 88 1 ; Catalogue of the United States Exhibition 
at Paris, 1878 (pp. 124), London : printed at the Ches- 
wich Press; American Union Speaker (pp. 588), Boston, 
1865, and second edition (pp. 536), Boston, 1876; the 
Primary Union Speaker (pp. 1 10), Boston ; City School 
Systems in the United States, published by the Bureau 
of Education, 1885 ; and School Reports printed in the 
Proceedings of the Council, 1885. 

I am not certain that the list is complete ; but it does 
not include a considerable number of unpublished lect- 
ures and addresses. 

Dr. Philbrick was president of the Connecticut State 
Teachers' Association, the Massachusetts State Teach- 
ers' Association, the American Institute of Instruction, 
and the National Educational Association. He was a 
member of the National Council of Education, member 
of the Massachusetts Board of Education for ten years, 
member of the government of the Institute of Technol- 
ogy from its establishment in 1861 to the time of his 
death, and a trustee of Bates College for ten years. 



34 JOHN D. PUIL BRICK. 

He received the degree of LL.D. from Bates College 
in 1872, and from St. Andrew's University, Scotland, 
in 1879; was ma< ^ e Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, 
France, 1878, and also received the Gold Palm of the 
University of Fiance, with the title Officio- d' Instruc- 
tion Publigue. 

Probably none of these titles and their accompanying 
diplomas afforded him so much pleasure as a " Reward of 
Merit," received from his first teacher, who occupied the 
"little red schoolhouse on the hill," in School District 
No. 1, in his native town. Dr. Philbrick remembered 
this school district in his will. A quarter part of the 
income from the money which he has left to the town of 
Decrfield is to be given annually to this district, "in 
addition to its legal share of school money." The reward 
of merit read as follows : — 

This may certify that John PL'ilbrick is at the head of 
class No. 2, and for his good behavior and laudable im- 
provement the week past has the approbation of his teacher, 

Ruth Bailey. 

Deerfield, July 2, 1824. 

His foreign travels in 1873 included visits to Liver- 
pool, London, Paris, Vienna, Prague, the principal cities 
of Germany, and Brussels; and in 1878, France, Eng- 
land, and Scotland. 

Such are the positions he held, the works he wrote, 
and the marks of honor he received. Let us now exam- 
ine with more care some of the results of his labors. 

Like many of the older teachers of New England, he 
laid the foundation for his future success in the old dis- 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 35 

trict school. He taught in such a district in the town of 
Danvers, Massachusetts, several winters while in college. 
Here he was noted for his devotion to his school, and for 
his interest in a small society of teachers of the town, 
mostly college students like himself, who used to meet 
in various parts of the town for mutual help in regard 
to their professional work. The lessons of professional 
help from association and conference that he here learned 
from experience, he never forgot. Perhaps there is not 
a man in this country who has contributed so largely 
of time, travel, and talent to the various associations of 
teachers in the country as our lamented friend. With 
what patience, and interest, too, he listened to the essays 
and discussions of others. For he welcomed free inter- 
change of views as the best means of clarifying one's 
own mind. He was the most sincere lover of criticism, 
even adverse criticism, that I have ever known. How 
often I have heard him say, " We should be thankful for 
the criticisms of our enemies ; for our enemies will tell 
us our faults, a thing which our friends are reluctant 
to do." 

Then what deference he always paid to the opinions of 
those whose wisdom and experience entitled them to con- 
sideration. He had no patience with educational char- 
latanism ; but for a sincere student, for honest expe- 
rience, his respect was genuine. How many of us have 
been encouraged to excel ourselves by his appreciative 
consideration of our opinions based on careful obser- 
vation. This spirit made him both a teacher and a 
learner at our conventions. 



3G JOHN J). PHILBRICK. 

Of Dr. Philbrick's work in Connecticut I will let 
Charles Northend speak : — 

"He came here [New Britain] in 1852, at the request 
of Dr. Barnard, to take charge of the State Normal 
School, a position he filled with rare ability and success. 
Some two years later, Dr. Barnard resigned the State 
supcrintendency of schools, and, on his recommendation, 
Mr. Philbrick was made State Superintendent of Schools 
and principal of the Normal School. Of him at this time 
Dr. Barnard wrote to the president of the State Teachers' 
Association as follows : ' Mr. Philbrick is a wise, prac- 
tical teacher, of large personal experience in every de- 
partment of the educational field, and has shown himself 
willing to labor ' in season and out of season,' and to 
•spend and be spent' in the cause of popular education. 
He enjoys the highest respect and love of the teachers, 
and by his ability, common sense, and devotion to his 
duties will deserve and secure the confidence and co- 
operation of the people of the State.' 

" Mr. Philbrick remained in this State about five years, 
greatly to the benefit of the Normal School and to the 
cause of education throughout the State, and when, in 
1857, he resigned his position here to accept the superin- 
tendency of the schools of Boston, it was greatly to the 
regret of the friends of progress in school work ; but 
brief as his stay was here, he was instrumental of great 
and lasting good. 

" I will close this article by naming two or three par- 
ticulars in which Dr. Philbrick excelled, and to which his 
great usefulness and eminent success were largely owing : 

" 1. He was a perfect gentleman, — always courteous, 
and kind, and winning in his manner, by which he both 
made and retained friends. 

" 2. He was a man of great earnestness, sound common 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 37 

sense, and good judgment; a man of great firmness and 
persistent effort in the execution of his views and plans. 
"3. Dr. Philbrick had the rare faculty of gaining the 
good-will and hearty co-operation of all in any way asso- 
ciated with him. He always most cheerfully accorded to 
all their full share of merit for what they did, and inspired 
them with the feeling that he was their true friend." 

Dr. Philbrick's first important work in Boston was in 
making the Quincy school a success. To understand the 
significance of this work, we must remember that the 
organization of this school, under Mr. Philbrick, was the 
beginning of a new departure in school management in 
the city. Up to that time, 1847, the old " double-headed " 
organization had prevailed. " By this singular arrange- 
ment each school had two departments, called the read- 
ing and writing departments. Each of these departments 
was accommodated in a separate apartment ; each had 
its separate set of studies ; the programme of studies 
being divided for this purpose, not horizontally by grades, 
but vertically by subjects ; each had its master and corps 
of assistants, usually two or three in number; and the 
pupils attended each in turn, changing from one to the 
other at each half-daily session." The pupils all assem- 
bled and prepared their lessons in the room with the 
master. This room usually had a seating capacity of 
about one hundred and eighty. Originally, all the reci- 
tations were conducted in the same room, the master 
hearing one section of pupils and the assistants hearing 
the others. 

By the arrangement adopted in the Ouincy school, 



38 J01IX 1). PIIILBItlUK. 

each division was to occupy a separate room ; and when 
one reflects upon the old state of harshness in discipline, 
repression, confusion, and corporal punishment, that were 
necessary, and then upon the quiet, the order, and the 
kindness of spirit, that would be infused into a school 
under the new system, he will at once understand why 
it was so important that the new plan should succeed. 
Then there were the economic reasons, the reasons that 
were more potent in the minds of many of the school 
committee at that time than the pedagogic ones. 

Mr. Philbrick proved to be the right man for the new 
scheme. He made it such a success that, in a few years, 
the old double-headed system had entirely disappeared ; 
and no more schoolhouses in Boston have been built on 
the old plan. Whether the old system would have con- 
tinued much longer in the event of his failure, it is im- 
possible to say ; but it is quite evident that the better era 
was much hastened by his wise and efficient administra- 
tion. The influence of this change is now felt, perhaps, 
in every State in the Union ; if not in the structure of 
schoolhouses, certainly in the mildness of the discipline 
that has been made possible. 

Another great service rendered to the Boston schools, 
and, indeed, to the schools of the whole country, was the 
reform in the school programmes. The accomplishing of 
this required the highest wisdom and the application of 
the best common sense. Dr. Philbrick had the good 
judgment, in this as in many other things, to proceed 
slowly. Even after he knew the right, he took time to 
do the work necessary for its introduction. 



LIFE AND CHABACTER. 39 

The making of a good programme is undoubtedly the 
highest kind of pedagogical work. It is easy to tinker a 
programme, easy to say, " Put this into the schools, and 
take that out " ; but to know the end of human develop- 
ment, its successive stages, its breadth, the relative pro- 
portion of each element to be introduced, — to know the 
means to be used, the matter to be presented, the order 
of presentation, the proper proportion of time to give to 
this or that subject ; and then to be able to state intel- 
ligibly all the processes in proper co-ordination and sub- 
ordination, — in short, to determine just what shall be 
done, when and how, by the children of a city, so that all 
shall be educated in the best way, — this requires peda- 
gogical skill of the highest order. It requires educa- 
tional wisdom of no mean quality to know enough not to 
attempt the task. 

I doubt whether a greater advance in the constructing 
of a good programme has been made in this country than 
was made by Mr. Philbrick in the arranging of the course 
of study for the primary and grammar schools of Boston. 
In speaking of the effect of the programme of the pri- 
mary schools twenty years after it went into operation, 
he says : " The adoption of this programme was of so 
much importance as to constitute an era in the history 
of the primary schools. Its beneficial effects were soon 
apparent, and they have gone on increasing ever since. 
It gives definiteness of aim to. the teachers which they 
did not before have, promotes unity and harmony of effort 
on the part of teachers of different classes, and tends to 
secure uniformity of progress in corresponding classes 



40 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

in different parts of the city, while it affords at once 
a standard and guide in making examinations for pro- 
motion." 

This work of Dr. Philbrick has sometimes been spoken 
of as though it was, in his mind, an end ; or, at least, that 
school organization was an end, and not a means. Those 
who make such criticisms fail to take into account, in the 
first place, the fact that the making of a good programme 
implies a profound knowledge of education, both philo- 
sophic and practical, and in the second place, the fact 
that, when his programme was made and well applied in 
the schools under his control, he began to study the ways 
and means of raising the teachers under his direction to 
the rank of educational philosophers with as much zeal 
as he had ever displayed in the construction or introduc- 
tion of the programme. 

It was just at this point that he was misunderstood by 
his critics. Because he laid a necessary foundation first, 
and then sought means for erecting the superstructure, it 
was assumed that he would never build. Shrewdly has 
Dr. White remarked, " His apparent conservatism was 
the poise of deep insight and wide knowledge." While 
others would fail on account of moving too soon, he could 
wait till all contingencies were provided for. 

Another important service rendered by Dr. Philbrick 
was the making of the grammar masters principals of 
districts. The primary schools of Boston remained un- 
graded down to 1856; but between that date and 1864 
they had been graded into six classes, and, when prac- 
ticable, a single class was assigned to each teacher This 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 41 

arrangement, of course, required promotions to be made 
every six months, from one primary teacher to another, 
unless the teachers were sent from grade to grade with 
their pupils, a plan which was not generally adopted. 
" This made it necessary that some one should be 
charged with the responsibility of supervising the group 
with reference to the admission of pupils, their proper 
classification, and their qualifications for promotion, from 
class to class, and to the grammar schools." 

At the same time the number of pupils in each of the 
grammar schools had become so much larger under the 
"single-headed" organization that an improvement in the 
supervision of the lower classes had come to be felt as a 
necessity. The master was occupied in teaching the first 
class, and consequently the labors of the subordinate 
teachers were often undirected, or misdirected, and, con- 
sequently, conflicting in their aims. This laid the foun- 
dation for " high pressure " in the first class, for the 
pupils often came up poorly qualified to do the work re- 
quired. And the more the master tried to remedy the 
deficiency in his own class, the more he was increasing 
the evil for the succeeding class by neglecting the classes 
below. And, beside, the pupils who left school without 
reaching the first class received little benefit from the 
superior experience and teaching power of the master. 

To remedy all these evils, Dr. Philbrick conceived the 
plan of relieving the master from the duty of teaching in 
the first class, and of making him the principal, not only 
of the grammar school, but of all the primary schools in 
his district as well. This scheme had the ever potent 



42 JOHN l). PH1LBBI0K. 

merit of cheapness ; and, after a long discussion, and the 
support of an able report, it was adopted by the Board. 
The conservative members, however, succeeded in adding 
a modification to the original plan, to the effect that the 
new duty of the master should be performed "under the 
direction of the district committee." This qualification 
WTOUghl much harm in some districts for a long time, but 
in the main the plan soon went into effect. 

Nearly ten years later Dr. Philbrick writes : — 

" 'This measure has unified the whole system and 
greatly increased its strength and efficiency. Without it 
the new programme would have proved little better than 
so much waste paper. Each master is now not merely a 
teacher of one small class, — he is tin- training master and 
real director of all the classes in his -district, II he does 
his duty he ten lies more or less in every class to show 
how they should be handled, and so aids and directs the 
teachers in carrying out the programmes, that their labor 
may, as far as possible, contribute to the accomplishment 
of the desired objects." 

Hut I must hasten on, for time would fail rac to treat, 
with anything like fullness, of all the reforms wrought 
in the Boston schools, through the wise foresight and 
patienl labor ol I )r. Philbrick. 

lie kept the school expenditures from being reduced 
to a point thai would cripple the efficiency of the schools. 
lie never boasted of cheap schools. The farthest he 
ever wcnl in this direction was to show the people that 
school expenses, in the time of high prices, were not in- 
creased so rapidly as other city expenses, and that for 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 4',\ 

the most extravagant use of nmncy for school purposes 
the school committee were not responsible; but he never 
so far yielded to the popular clamor for retrenchment as 
to consent to the reduction of teachers' salaries, or the 
cheapening of the necessary supplies for the schools, 
lie saw clearly that the schools must cost money if they 
were to be good, and his motto was, " Schools good 
enough for the rich are poor enough for the poor." If 
the public schools are patronized by the wealthy they are 
economical, even for them, and so Mr. 1'hilbrick sought 
to make the public schools better than it is possible to 
inula; private schools. 

1 1 is wise counsels were felt in the construction of 
school houses. Mr. George A. Clough, the able architect 
of the Latin and English High School building in Bos- 
ton, says : — 

"The earliest impressions that I received upon school 
architecture were from Dr. Philbrick, as far back as LS71, 
and now, after fifteen years' experience, I have had an 
opportunity to see that his views were far in advance of 
all other writers upon the subject in this country. In 
reviewing my experience I find myself constantly associ- 
ated with the early views of Dr. Philbrick." 

In the matter of school furniture such a change was 
wrought under his administration that the effect has 
been felt all over this country, and even in other coun- 
tries. To his wisdom are we, perhaps, mainly indebted 
for the use of a single desk for every scholar, from the 
primary school to the high. 

lie was among the first, — perhaps the very first, — of 



44 JOHN D. PUILBBICK. 

the leading educators of the country to perceive the value 
of art education, and to take steps toward its promotion. 
Mr. John S. Clark, of the firm of Prang & Co., a man as 
well qualified to speak upon this point as any man in the 
United States, says : — 

" The movement for the study of drawing in the public 
schools .... had its beginning in Boston. I do not 
think I do injustice to the many gentlemen who took a 
deep interest in starting the movement in Massachusetts 
when I say that the leading spirit in the movement was 
Dr. Philbrick. In my various consultations with him he 
surprised me, not only by the thoroughness of his obser- 
vation of what had been done abroad, but also by his 
clear comprehension of what was necessary to be clone 
here before any success could be expected. To Dr. Phil- 
brick more than to any other one person are we indebted 
for our Massachusetts Normal Art School. It was 
through his instrumentality, mainly, that Mr. Walter 
Smith was induced to come to Boston in 1872." 

And, I mav add that the influence of this movement 
upon the industrial productions and upon the artistic 
tastes of the people of this country is beyond compu- 
tation. 

In the department of vocal music great progress was 
made during Dr. Philbrick's administration. When lie 
took charge of the schools, in 1856, singing was indiffer- 
ently taught in only a portion of the classes of the gram- 
mar schools, and in these it was not taught by the regular 
teachers. In fact, " there was no prescribed programme 
of instruction, no harmony of methods, no uniformity of 
textbooks, no classification, — in fact, no system." At 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 45 

the close of his connection Willi the schools, a thorough, 
systematic, and progressive course of musical instruction 
was given to all the pupils, beginning with the youngest 
on their entrance into school, and ending with the last 
year of the high school course; and there was, also, a 
systematic course of instruction given to the pupils of 
the Boston Normal School to qualify the students to 
teach music when they should be called to take charge 
of classes as teachers. 

Dr. Philbrick, as long ago as i860, took strong ground 
in favor of the introduction of physical training, or gym- 
nastics, into the public schools. After much opposition, 
the plan that he proposed in i860 was adopted in 1864, 
and a special teacher of vocal and physical culture was 
appointed. Not so much has been accomplished in this 
department in Boston as is needed, on account of our lack 
of facilities. The difficulty of improvement in this 
branch of instruction is a good illustration of the con- 
servative force of an established order of things. To 
make physical culture really effective, a gymnasium is 
necessary in connection with each school, and in Boston 
the schoolhouses are so situated that the acquisition of 
ground for suitable buildings would be very expensive ; 
and so even those who are wise enough to see the need 
of such buildings hesitate to move in the matter. 

The plan at present in operation in Boston of employ- 
ing a force of truant officers by the school committee was 
developed during Dr. Philbrick's administration. At 
first truant officers were appointed by the mayor and 
aldermen, and were not responsible to the school com- 



46 JOHN D. PHILBBICE. 

mittee for the performance of their duty. They for a 
long time met the superintendent once a month as a 
matter of courtesy, but not as a duty. At last the au- 
thority to appoint these officers and fix their salaries was 
conferred upon the school committee by general statute, 
and then they met the superintendent once a week for 
consultation and direction. After this system had been 
developed and perfected by a series of experiments in 
Boston, its beneficial effects were so marked that it at- 
tracted the attention of other American cities, and finally 
produced much effect in England and other foreign coun- 
tries. The action of the truant force in Boston was so 
moulded by the superintendent that the moral influence 
of the officers in promoting a better state of feeling 
toward the schools, among ignorant parents, and thus 
securing greater regularity of attendance, was, perhaps, 
quite as great as that of their direct, legally required 
work. 

Outside the public schools Dr. Philbrick's influence 
was constantly felt for good. He was a member of the 
association that secured the charter of the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology. From the day of the chartering 
of this institution to the day of his own death he was a 
member of the corporation and of the committee on in- 
struction. He was a constant attendant of the meet- 
ings, both of the corporation and of the committees to 
which he belonged, and, by his labors and counsel, did 
much to develop this important institution. 

He was no inconsiderable factor in the forces that cre- 
ated the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was the first 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 47 

temporary secretary of this association, and did much to 
secure the necessary funds for its establishment. Many 
of those who listen to me to-day will remember his per- 
sonal influence in this direction. 

His last work for Boston, as well as for the rest of the 
country, was his great argument in favor of a permanent 
tenure of office for teachers. His lecture upon this sub- 
ject before the American Institute of Instruction, and his 
masterly treatment of the same in his report to the Com- 
missioner of Education upon city school systems, did 
much toward securing the passage of the act by the Leg- 
islature last winter, which confers upon school commit- 
tees authority to dispense with the annual re-election of 
teachers, — a movement which, in the opinion of Dr. 
Philbrick, is second to no reform in education that has 
been inaugurated in this country. 

But, were I called upon to single out from all the grand 
achievements of Dr. Philbrick in Boston, the one more 
potent than all the rest, the one stronger and more far- 
reaching in its influence than all others, the one that has 
done most to make the Boston schools known and hon- 
ored wherever public schools exist in the whole world, 
the one that is destined, unless destroyed by narrowness 
and jealousy, to exert the strongest influence in the im- 
provement of our schools in the future, I should name, 
not schoolhouses, not school furnishings, not programmes, 
not methods, not special schools, not even the diffusion 
of a sound philosophical spirit, but rather the creation of 
a higher ideal of the schoolmaster's office, — an ideal that 
makes the office respected and honored by the people. 



48 JOHN l>. PHIL BRICK. 

and that makes the school itself the master's pride and 

glory, and the object of his entire consecration and devo- 
tion. This was the crowning glory of Dr. Philbrick's 
work in Boston. 

One of the fundamental philosophical principles that 
was early developed in Dr. Philbrick's mind, and that be- 
came a guiding force in many of his reforms, was the 
truth that specialized functions require specialized agen- 
cies. As soon as it became evident to him that there 
was a special work to be done he at once began to cast 
about tor the proper agency for its accomplishment. 
Hence we find growing up in Boston, under his wise 
guidance, and developing under his fostering care, even- 
ing elementary schools, evening high schools, evening 
drawing schools, schools for licensed minors, a deaf-mute 
school, in addition to the regular primary, grammar, and 
high schools. The same principle, also, held him as a 
firm advocate of the establishment of a separate Latin 
school for girls, instead of having the work of fitting girls 
for college done in the regular high school for girls where 
the chief business is giving a general education. 

The application of this principle compelled him to take 
ground in favor of a separate and distinct normal school. 
I te saw, with the insight of a sage, that the work of pre- 
paring young women to become teachers in primary and 
grammar schools was, in its finishing process, entirely 
distinct from the general work of developing scientific 
and literary power, and, therefore, as he believed, a spe- 
cial agency should be employed for performing this spe- 
cial work. I remember well a visit to the Boston Normal 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 49 

School by the superintendent of schools of New York, — 
Mr. Kiddle, — soon after the separation of the Normal 
School from the Girls' High. We were then just strug- 
gling into existence ; but, after witnessing the work of 
the school for some time, he remarked, " You have the 
right organization, — a special school for special work." 

And yet this is only a single instance of the profoundly 
philosophic mould of Dr. Philbrick's mind. He told me, 
within a few years of his death, that he had never written 
a sentence on education that he would wish to blot. It 
is remarkable to observe what unity and consistency run 
through all his writings. The reason of this is obvious 
to those who know the deep principles that ran through 
all his educational thinking and unified all his educa- 
tional work. Dr. Harris well expressed this fact when 
he said, " His annual reports were luminous with insight 
into the relations of practical methods to the history of 
pedagogy. He was a city set upon a hill. He never 
wrote a paragraph without considering the relation of its 
doctrine to the theory and practice of the world." 

The ability to do this implies what we all concede, that 
he was profoundly versed in educational history. Some 
have attempted to separate a knowledge of educational 
philosophy from that of educational practice, and to at- 
tribute to him the latter, but to deny him the former ; 
but those who so estimate the man know him only in 
part. He was, indeed, deeply read in systems of school 
organization, but these systems lay in his mind as the 
development of corresponding philosophies. He was 
strong as a practical school man, but the secret of his 



50 JOHN 1). PUILBRICK. 

practical strength lay in his profound knowledge of the 
principles that determine right practice. 

This made him conservative. While others were ready 
to embrace a newly presented theory or method, he felt 
compelled to hesitate. He must first consider whether it 
had not already been properly tested and rejected, and 
whether or not it was in accordance with those principles 
that he held as fundamental. Often would he reject a 
method of teaching which, for the time being, was pop- 
ular, well knowing that it was not in accordance with the 
views of the wisest educators. If any new, really new, 
method was proposed, he always inquired, before he ac- 
cepted it, whether it was in accordance with the tendency 
of the best practice of the world. But few men could 
apply this test, lie had the necessary knowledge, and it 
gave him great strength. He was so well versed in ped- 
agogical history that he knew what the various nations of 
the world had formerly done, what they were now doing, 
and the changes both in theory and practice through 
which they were going. And he judged that, if all the 
most enlightened nations of the world were moving in a 
given direction, that direction, while not necessarily ab- 
solutely right, was more likely to be right than any 
course that could be thought out by one single mind. 
How many times I have heard him say, " This practice 
is wrong because it is contrary to the unanimous opinion 
of the wisest educators." This test he often applied 
with wonderful skill. 

It has been said of him that he was not a great man. 
But what is the standard of greatness ? This is a relative 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 51 

term, of course. No one talent of his overshadowed all 
the rest ; but his mind was well rounded and evenly 
balanced, and one of remarkable force. His power of 
application was wonderful. His classmate, Rev. Dr. 
Spalding, says of him, " No man in college was more 
noted for his indefatigable industry." And the habit 
thus early formed clung to him till the day of his death. 
His judgment of men was excellent, and his opinion of 
the best means to secure a desired end was rarely wrong. 
His view of a broad truth was clear to a degree attained 
by but few, and his power to apply general principles to 
special cases was equal to his power of insight. If great- 
ness be judged by success, we must accord it to him in 
no small degree. Few men of a generation impress 
themselves upon the world so strongly or so widely. 
Probably no school man lives to-day who is so widely and 
so favorably known as was Dr. Philbrick at the time of 
his death. 

Not only the esteem in which he was held by educa- 
tors, but the affection they felt for him, was unusual. 
What is the secret ? Is it not to be found partly in the 
fact that his highest ambition was to be of real service to 
mankind ? In the seclusion and sacredness of his own 
study, July 9, 1865, he wrote : — 

" I often urge as the chief end of man, self-culture, 
with a view to use talents and acquirements for the ben- 
efit of others. I got a glimpse of this great idea while in 
college, I know not how, and it grew and expanded till it 
came to be my guiding principle. It was this which at 
length determined my choice of a profession. I felt that 



52 JOHN 1). PHILBBICK. 

the educational field was that in which I could best de- 
velop my own character and at the same time do the 
most good to mankind. I expected labor and trials, but 
these are necessary for culture. I have no regret on 
account of my choice ; I only regret that I have not done 
more. Not but that I have worked hard enough, but I 
have not always worked to the best advantage. To ac- 
complish great things one must have great power of 
endurance and also great wisdom to direct his efforts, so 
that he may always work to the best advantage." 

The desire to do the most good to mankind determined 
the choice of his profession ! Have we not here the key 
to that cheerful and unruffled patience with which he 
continually worked, to his catholic charity toward those 
who delayed the accomplishment of his cherished plans, 
and to that sweet spirit of Christian forgiveness of his 
enemies that made him so lovable in the quiet retirement 
of his later years ? Mow constantly he was guided by 
this principle those know best who knew him most. In 
his view education was a high and holy calling, worthy of 
the ambition of the noblest minds, and to this he conse- 
crated his life. 

His integrity never faltered. Honesty, both intellect- 
ual and moral, was a native clement of his character. 
Selfish aims and ambitions found no lodgment in his 
heart. 1 Ie preferred failure to insincerity. 

Then he was generous and sympathetic. No man was 
quicker to detect merit in others or more ready to give 
credit where it was due. How many have been cheered 
by his kind words of sympathy and his wise counsels, 
lie was a real friend to all who were honestly working 
for the good of public schools. 



LIFE AND CHARACTER. 53 

Able and industrious, devoted to his profession, and a 
student of its history and philosophy, sincere, generous, 
and sympathetic, patient and forgiving, his life was a 
grand success. Wherever public schools exist his influ- 
ence is felt ; wherever popular education is studied he is 
known. His mind was clear and strong ; his character 
was round, and full, and sweet ; and his life contributed 
abundantly to the good of mankind. Long may his 
memory live in our heart of hearts, and long may his 
noble example inspire us to emulate his virtues, and to 
consecrate ourselves, head and heart, soul and body, to 
the great work to which he devoted his life. 



Public Services 



of 



JOHN DUDLEY PHILBRICK. 



By W. T. Harris, LLD. 



Public Services 

OF 

JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 



We honor and esteem the development of human char- 
acter above all other products of this world. We do not 
value possessions so much as being. Character is not 
the indifferent foundation of the soul which is capable of 
becoming either good or bad, but it is the positive struct- 
ure that is erected on that foundation. Hence, we speak 
of a good man as a man of character, and of a bad man 
we say that he has no character. 

Again, it is evident that character is never the product 
of external circumstances ; it is formed only by the reac- 
tion of the human will against these circumstances. It 
is always the product of the self-activity of the man him- 
self. He reacts upon the world around him, and moulds 
it by his will. In proportion as he attains power to real- 
ize what is rational in this world he attains character. 
Looking upon each individual as a possibility of this 
precious outcome, we must value most highly any instru- 
mentalities which tend to favor its growth and develop- 
ment. All doings and havings which do not appertain 
to the growth of human character fail in an essential par- 



58 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

ticular. They do not have any part or lot in what is 
eternal. Only the going forth of the soul in the image 
of its Maker is of prime importance in the affairs of this 
world, and all deeds and events take rank according to 
their near or remote relation to this essential purpose. 

In view of this principle, we assemble to recount the 
evidences of character in our great men after they have 
gone from us. What they have done for us, what they 
have done for their fellow-men, is the test of this sub- 
stantial growth in themselves. For, strangely enough in 
human life, it is true that one finds his deepest self in 
the recognition that he receives from society. He works 
for it by working for others. It is the Christian doctrine 
that he who wishes to save his life in an immediate and 
selfish manner shall lose it ; and he who loses his life for 
the sake of others, he alone gains it ; he obtains a hold 
on his true being, — he realizes character. 

It is thus with the noble educator whom we celebrate 
on this occasion. Early in life, as we have heard from 
those who were most intimate with him, he consecrated 
himself to the work which promised the most direct field 
of usefulness to his fellow-men. There opened before 
him many careers of honor and success, — careers, indeed, 
that promised honor and wealth at a far less outlay of 
endeavor. But he perceived that easily won honors are 
not enduring ones ; he perceived that, in the long run, it 
is only character that is honored, and character builds 
itself by heroic self-sacrifice for the good of humanity. 
The missionary spirit, the zeal of St. Francis of Assisi, 
the zeal of St. Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, the zeal 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 59 

of the noble army of Christian missionaries, is the type 
of this highest unfolding of the human soul, for it is the 
nearest approach to the Divine Model as revealed to us 
in Christ. 

Looking at human welfare in its broadest sense, we 
shall agree, I think, in this : The highest service to men 
is that which brings to bear upon them the influence that 
will fill them with the spirit of self-sacrifice for the good. 
Character is that which develops character in others. 
Next after the heroes who preach the gospel of the high- 
est religion to men come the teachers who open the win- 
dows of the intellect and let the light of science into 
the soul. 

In a world full of sin and evil, full of poverty and suf- 
fering, full, likewise, of discontent and mutiny against 
established order, what is the first and best gift that one 
can offer to his day and generation ? Certainly, we shall 
say, next after the teachers who teach religion come the 
secular teachers who teach science and enlighten the in- 
tellect, while they train the will into moral habits. 

Take the evils of society, poverty, vice, disease, and 
crime, and consider their suppression and cure. The ad- 
ministration of justice, the dispensing of charity, do much 
to punish or cure, but very little to prevent. It is the 
opinion of many wise and thoughtful people that charity 
is often so managed that it aggravates evil by increasing 
its producing causes. To the social economist, however, 
one way is clear, — school education is a powerful pre- 
ventive. It increases the productive power of the indi- 
vidual by increasing his directive intelligence and by 



60 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

increasing his power of will, for the school rests on three 
pillars : First, the cultivation of the habit of industry, 
the will-power to do its reasonable task whether it is 
easy, pleasant, and agreeable, or difficult and disagree- 
able. Second, the training of the intellect into science, 
the giving it possession of the tools of thought, the mas- 
tery of written and printed language in which is revealed 
human nature ; the mastery of arithmetic and its kin- 
dred branches, in which are revealed the laws and condi- 
tions of matter ; and such studies as give insight into 
the structure of reason, like grammar, or into the growth 
of human institutions, like history, or into our present 
relations to all mankind, like geography. Thirdly, there 
is the training into habits of courtesy and morality, the 
great lesson of civil life, the combination with one's 
fellow-men in peaceful forms of helpfulness, and the sup- 
pression of animal tendencies to strife and contention. 
The school teaches pupils to meet each other and co- 
operate to secure a reasonable end by courteous and 
considerate behavior. In fact, the humblest and most 
elementary school, as well as the highest and most ad- 
vanced school, does something to contribute to individual 
and social welfare. It teaches the individual to help 
himself and to combine helpfully with his fellow-men. 
In an age of rapid changes in industry and in social 
conditions, it is indispensable that the individual shall 
be educated into the power to adapt himself to his cir- 
cumstances, the power to readjust himself in case of 
emergencies. All will acknowledge that industry, the 
mastery of knowledge, and the tools of thought and cour- 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 61 

teous behavior are the most essential requisites for this 
age of change and transition. 

While, therefore, we gladly recognize the nobility of a 
life devoted to commerce and trade, to manufactures, to 
agricultural production, or to the professions of law and 
medicine, yet we must feel the weight of the motives 
which moved Mr. Philbrick, when a serious-minded and 
ambitious young man, to select the vocation of teacher. 
Such motives the half-conscious, half-unconscious stuff of 
feelings and aspirations moved his great contemporaries, 
Horace Mann, Henry Barnard, Thomas Arnold, George 
Peabody, Johns Hopkins, to devote life, or fortune, or 
both, to the cause of education. Here is the field where 
charity will make no mistakes ; here is the field where 
justice will prevent, as well as suppress and cure crime 
and vice and pauperism. The productive power of an 
educated community surpasses that of an uneducated 
community, not threefold merely, but three hundred fold. 
The trained intellect can invent and bring to its aid the 
forces of nature. The pupil trained to perform his task 
without a murmur, when the subject is difficult and dis- 
tasteful, — being far remote from his daily interests and 
objects of life, — has conquered his selfish appetites and 
has learned self-government, and thereby become fit to 
govern others. 

We have already listened to the reminiscences of Mr. 
Philbrick's youth, and learned the story of his aspirations 
and his struggles. We have heard, too, of his special 
work here in Boston, first as assistant teacher, and next 
as principal teacher or head master ; then, finally, as 



62 JOHN B. PHIL BRICK. 

general superintendent of the entire school system of 
Boston. It remains now for me to attempt a brief 
summary of his significance to the cause of education in 
general. I have, therefore, begun what I had to say by 
calling your attention to the position which the cause of 
popular education holds in human life as a whole. What 
I offer here must necessarily be a very meager outline 
of the rich and full history which Mr. Philbrick's rela- 
tions to general education constitute. 

More and more in our age is increasing the power of 
example. It is becoming the general custom to look up 
from the task before us to the history of all such tasks, 
and to the manifold performance of the same in other 
environments. In the history of popular education in 
the United States Boston has been before all others the 
city set on a hill. The most numerous, and the best, de- 
vices for organizing schools and perfecting the methods 
of instruction have come from it. Boston itself, between 
the years of 1840 and i860, passed through one of the 
most remarkable epochs of educational progress that we 
find in history. It threw off the old shell of the un- 
graded district school system and adopted a new organ- 
ization better fitted for a city school system. 

The student of our educational history will eagerly 
search in the records of this city to find the successive 
steps that inaugurated this great change. He cannot fail 
to observe that the most prominent actor in this change 
was John D. Philbrick. The cities and villages of the 
mighty Northwest, and, following their lead, the cities 
and villages of the Southwest, have been organized upon 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 63 

the Boston system of the graded school. The idea of 
this system is in the head of every successful school 
manager in the new states of this country, and, in most 
cases, I might add, it is not fully known how great a debt 
is due to Boston for this idea. Boston is freely and gen- 
erally accredited with numerous minor ideas relating to 
school architecture and the courses of study, but only a 
few know what deep and radical principles of organiza- 
tion have proceeded from this city " set on a hill." 

Most teachers who find themselves acting in an organ- 
ization suppose themselves to be doing what the unen- 
lightened common sense of the individual would dictate. 
They think that school buildings were always built just 
as they are now, and schools organized and classes ar- 
ranged just as they arrange them. They do not realize 
that every item of architecture, every item of the course 
of study and method of instruction and management has 
grown into vogue through fires of opposition ; that they 
have supplanted other forms of doing these things. 

We must not suppose that even the ungraded country 
school is a rude product of nature and unaided common 
sense ; even it has a long evolution behind it. But, con- 
sider what changes are necessary when you pass from 
the ungraded school organized by a teacher with his 
twenty-five pupils in some single room in a district to 
the large school in the city. In the country, sparsity of 
population makes unnecessary whole ranges of school 
culture. The city demands, first of all, that its children 
shall be taught to live in one community without quar- 
rels; that, on the other hand, they shall learn to live 



64 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

together in a co-operative spirit. For this it is necessary 
before all that the children of the city shall be brought 
together in large schools ; instead of twenty or thirty 
pupils there must be five hundred or a thousand in one 
school. Hence arises the necessity of inventing wise 
methods of organization in order to civilize these masses 
of children and secure humane results. 

It appears that, in 1789, at a town meeting in Boston, 
a report was presented from a committee of honored cit- 
izens recommending the establishing of three schools, 
respectively located in the northern, southern, and cen- 
tral districts of the city. These schools were to belong 
to what was called for a long time the "double-headed 
system." They were to have one department called a 
4< writing school," in which was taught writing and arith- 
metic under one master, and another department called a 
''reading school," likewise under an independent master, 
in which was taught reading, spelling, orthoepy, and 
grammar. The pupils of these schools were to be boys 
and girls from seven to fourteen years, after they had 
attended the infant schools, or " women's schools." The 
boys might attend the year round, but the girls could 
attend only from April 20th to October 20th. These 
pupils were to attend the writing school one half of the 
day, and the reading school the other half of the day. 
Here is the organization of the system of schools of 
Boston for more than half a century. Mr. Philbrick was 
appointed head master of the first single-headed school, 
— the Ouincy School, — Sept. 6th, 1847, before the new 
building to be named "The Quircy School" was com- 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 65 

pleted. I cannot learn what influence Mr. Philbrick had 
in determining the plans that were adopted in the new 
building which he occupied in 1848. I learn only that 
Dr. T. M. Brewer was chairman of the school, and that 
great credit is given to Hon. John H. Wilkins, chairman 
of the Public Building Committee, in conjunction with 
George B. Emerson, the chairman of the Committee of 
Conference, appointed by the School Committee. I 
strongly suspect that to Mr. Emerson was due the radical 
change in the arrangement of the rooms. Instead of a 
large study room, with small recitation rooms opening 
out from it, there were twelve separate rooms intended 
to be occupied each by a single teacher, who was to have 
charge of the discipline of the pupils while studying, as 
well as of the classes when reciting. 

This point in regard to architecture is by all means 
the most important item in the whole plan of organiza- 
tion. Instead of a small room, twenty-eight by thirty- 
two feet, and holding fifty-six pupils, make a large 
room holding one hundred and fifty pupils and you 
change the entire morale of the school. While a hu- 
mane, well-balanced teacher can easily manage the small 
room and secure excellent discipline with very little or 
no corporal punishment, it requires a person of strong 
gifts in the direction of discipline, — so strong, indeed, 
as to overbalance his other qualities, — to control and 
discipline the large room. The tendency of the school 
system with the large room is constantly toward the 
employment of bullies and tyrants as head masters. The 
influence of the whole school then goes toward military 



66 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

discipline sustained by brute force. I remember hearing 
an usher in a Boston school so far back as 1845 boast 
that the head master whipped up forty rattans in one 
morning in suppressing a rebellion among his boys. In 
the St. Louis schools, when I entered them in 1858, 
where the large-room plan prevailed, it was not uncom- 
mon for over one hundred cases of corporal punishment 
to take place in one day in a school building containing 
less than five hundred pupils. 

The pupils in the small rooms remain under the disci- 
pline of the same teacher, both in recitation and in study, 
and teacher and pupil come to know each other and to 
feel an intimate sympathy, whereas, in the large room 
system, the number of pupils prevents intimate acquaint- 
ance on the part of the head master, who is responsible 
for the discipline. The constant danger of demoraliza- 
tion renders summary measures indispensable. Every 
case of misbehavior attracts the attention of one hundred 
and fifty pupils. The teacher can have very little power 
to hold so many pupils in subordination by the influence 
of his eye and voice. In the small room a case of misbe- 
havior disturbs only fifty pupils, and the teacher easily 
holds the room under control by a mere look or a mere 
word. I have not begun to name the advantages of the 
new building over the old ; but it very soon reduced the 
cases of corporal punishment to one tenth as many as 
before, and finally to one-hundredth of the former num- 
ber. Pupils were humanized ; the teacher's will pene- 
trated each soul intimately and became an unconscious 
governing power, and, finally, the pupils became self- 
governed. 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 67 

In the system of schools of St Louis after the adoption 
of the Boston style of building, corporal punishment de- 
creased from an average of five hundred cases per week 
for seven hundred pupils to three cases for that number. 
Judge of the benefit to the schools of the Central Plain 
of the United States from this architectural innovation 
of Boston. But another benefit of almost equal magni- 
tude arose from the close grading of classes which the 
new system produced. I think that Mr. Philbrick alone 
deserves the credit for most of this latter improvement. 
The large school was graded into classes from the lowest 
to the highest so as to bring together in each room only 
those of the same grade of advancement in their studies. 
According to the ungraded system, such as exists in 
small country schools now, each teacher had pupils of all 
grades, from those just beginning to read up to those 
studying algebra and perhaps Latin. Twenty-five pupils 
in the country school admit of classification into divis- 
ions of two or three pupils at most, and the result is, 
forty recitations for the day's work, and five or ten min- 
utes to each recitation. It is obvious that no thorough 
work can be done on this plan ; no searching analysis of 
the recitation, no discussion of the thought, no experi- 
ments to illustrate it, — nothing, nothing but mere com- 
mitting to memory and repeating the words by rote, — no 
explanation of the process of an arithmetical problem, 
but only a memorizing of the rule, and an inspection of 
the figures in which the answer is stated. The ungraded 
school in which this method of procedure did not prevail 
was a rare phenomenon. In the graded school each 



68 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

teacher has two classes, — one recites while the other 
learns its lesson. The recitation is as long as the atten- 
tion of the pupil can be held without over-strain, — twenty 
to twenty-five minutes in the lower grades, and thirty 
to forty minutes in the highest classes of the grammar 
school. Time is given for review of the previous lesson, 
for investigation of the lesson for the day, for discussion 
of authorities, for illustrations, for hints as to methods of 
study. Each pupil prepares himself by study of the text- 
book, and in the recitation sees the subject through the 
perspective of the minds of his fellow-pupils and teacher, 
thus widening his own narrow views of the subject by 
seeing what different aspects it takes on in the minds of 
his fellow-pupils. He acquires critical alertness by this 
process and goes to his next lesson with his mind full of 
new inquiry and reflection, thus re-enforcing his own 
power of attention by what he has learned from the 
whole class and the teacher. A good teacher can and 
does use the recitation as an instrumentality for re< 
enforcing each individual mind by all the minds of the 
whole class. 

The constant influence, therefore, of the graded school 
system of Boston has been to change the memoriter sys- 
tem of recitation into a system of critical investigation. 
Such a system is not possible in an ungraded school, 
even with a good teacher. Although bad methods are 
possible with poor teachers, even in a graded system, yet 
they are no longer necessary, and experience tends to 
eradicate them altogether. 

If we now ask ourselves how it is that, under Mr. Phil- 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 69 

brick, the Boston schools attained their world-wide celeb- 
rity, we may see two great and sufficient causes in the 
fact that other parts of the United States have borrowed 
the system of graded schools from it, and have learned to 
look upon the Boston schools as the highest achievement 
in the common school system. Foreign authorities have 
been quick to perceive this original merit of Boston, and 
have acknowledged it. 

In Boston, more than elsewhere in the country, there 
have been men of remarkable power and wisdom in the 
school committee, and, besides these, a very superior 
class of teachers. The bare fact that Mr. Philbrick held 
the superintendency for twenty years in such a city would 
itself imply the strongest eulogium that can be made. 
He was able to inspire and unite the action of so large a 
number of men of first-class ability on the school com- 
mittee. He was able to secure and retain to the last the 
respect and love of such a corps of teachers. The thing 
is unprecedented and without the possibility of a par- 
allel elsewhere in our country. 

Mr. Philbrick was chosen to organize the graded school 
system in 1847 on the adoption of the "single-headed" 
system of organization. All its possibilities were yet to 
be unfolded. None of them had become apparent. 
There was no model to go by. Any but a master-mind 
for organization would have found himself trammeled by 
the past, and would have failed to develop the advantages 
of the new, and would thus have retarded the good work. 
Mr. Philbrick, however, was quick to see what potential- 
ities were in the new, and at once organized them into a 



70 JOHN D. rillLBRICK. 

system. An institution once organized carries along 
with it, by its own force, a whole system of second-rate 
workers, and rc-enforces their feeble efforts by the 
strength of the organized whole. 

As soon as Connecticut had established a normal 
school, in 1852, Dr. Henry Barnard, the state superin- 
tendent there, secured Mr. Philbrick to organize it. As 
principal, he preached in that normal school the new doc- 
trine of graded schools ; and, finally, in institutes all over 
the state, held by him after he became the state superin- 
tendent, he continued to proclaim the same idea, reach- 
ing all the intelligent minds open to new ideas on the 
subject of education. 

His return to Boston as superintendent, in January, 
1S57, opened a new epoch. Already the graded system 
had been established throughout the city. That was all 
done within seven years after the Ouincy School had led 
the way. Now began his efficient work on the infant 
schools. They were classified and organized in accord- 
ance with his recommendation, and his untiring supervis- 
ion of them elevated them to the foremost rank in the 
school system for excellence. His wise foresight made 
fast this degree of excellence by securing the adoption of 
a system of supervision by the grammar school masters, 
relieving them from some of the labor of the actual work 
of instruction of classes in order to gain the time requi- 
site for this supervision. 

To those unacquainted with school supervision, it seems 
strange to hear that the mere circumstance of making 
the head masters of the schools supervisors over a group 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 71 

of schools is in itself one of the greatest of school re- 
forms. The routine of school work is very narrowing in 
its effects, and continually wears for itself ruts that pre- 
vent spontaneity in the teacher. These ruts produce a 
degeneration in school work. As soon as the head mas- 
ter begins to have work of supervision over other classes 
he begins to recognize new and good methods, and to 
carry them from one teacher to the next, thus helping 
each by the experience of all. He begins to replace 
dead methods by new, live ones, and there begins to be a 
vital circulation once more throughout the supervised 
school. 

I have seen a system of schools adopt gradually the 
Boston method of local supervision. I used to say that 
the school of four rooms, without supervision, attained a 
degree of excellence that could be symbolized by twenty 
to forty per cent. ; that is to say, the amount of real 
ability brought into actual play in the school was only 
twenty to forty per cent, of the possible power of the 
teachers. 

Again, in a twelve-room school, with a little supervis- 
ion on the part of the principal teacher, the average 
degree of excellence in discipline and instruction arose 
to forty or sixty per cent, of the possibility in the teach- 
ers. But, in a larger school, when the principal teacher 
gave his or her time nearly all to supervising, the average 
of actual excellence arose as high as eighty to one hun- 
dred per cent, of the capacity. The assistants felt new 
powers of work, and lived in a sort of vitalized atmos- 
phere, accomplishing what they could never have be- 



72 John i). PHILBBIOK. 

lieved il possible to accomplish under the system without 
supei vision. 

Organized supervision holds fast the ground already 
gained, and moves on to new achievements, for supervis- 
ion means thai the individual contributions to methods 
of discipline and instruction are seen by the supervisor 
and carried to all others, so that eaeh teacher is re- 
enfoi i ed by all, and all by each. 

The inventory of the great items of Mr. Philbrick's 
work as an educator includes, besides the organization of 
the graded school system, a multitude of suggestions re* 
garding the proper methods of teaching special branches 
of study. These are to be found scattered through his 
school reports. The introduction of industrial drawing 
into the Boston schools, the state law making it obliga- 
tory on all ciiies of 10,000 inhabit, mis, the importing of 
the requisite experience and teaching ability from the 
great English Am School al South Kensington, the es« 
lablishnieiii of the State Normal Art School, and, finally, 
the spread of this branch of instruction to all the citi 
of the land, — Mr. Philbrick receives justly greal honor 

for the very proniinen i share thai he had in this move- 
ment, both as mi originator and organizer. 

To him, also, is due the introduction of evening 

Schools, schools lor liiciised minors, and the evening 

high schools. 

In the matters of school architecture the questions of 
hygiene greatly interested him. He discusses the mosl 
important advances in this matter over and over in his 
reports. The size of playgrounds, gymnastics and calis- 



run Lid SEBVICE8. 73 

thenics, ventilation, proper heating, and, above all, the 
proper lighting of schoolrooms, were favorite themes of 
discussion and suggestion with him. The size of the 
schoolroom, the method of seating by single desks, the 
lighting of the room from the left side of the pupil by 

numerous windows ascending to the ceiling of the room, 

the proper size of the school for the best purposes of 
grading and classification, have been discussed by him in 
;i i houghtful manner. 

I come to what is, perhaps, his greatest intellectual 
trait, lie believed in the study of the history of peda- 
gOgy. He prided himself on possessing the best library 
of education to be found in private hands in America. 
His motto was: "Study education as a whole," — know 
it as it is at home and abroad. You will find that the 
history of education contains the career of most educa- 
tional ideas, showing their inception and adoption, and 
their subsequent effects, and, if they proved wanting on 
trial, you will find that also in the history of education. 

He had attained that noblest ideal of the supervisor 
which we have described as exercising the function of 
taking from each one the original and valuable devices of 
method, and transplanting the same into the daily work 
and routine of the others. lit: now held thai the Super- 
visor must take all education, past and present, into his 
survey, and try to improve his system of schools by intro- 
ducing the good elements wherever found, and eliminat- 
ing the bad. " Trove all things and hold last to that 
which is good." Of course each teacher has his idio- 
syncrasy and cannot be helped by all methods that arc 



74 JOHN D. PHILBEICK. 

good for others. Each is in need of some specific, as it 
were ; hence there must be careful and wise study of the 
history and laws of growth of one's own system before 
one undertakes to modify it in any particular. 

Mr. Philbrick's aim was to be judicial, and not parti- 
san. This appeared even in his style of writing his 
reports. He scarcely completes a sentence advocating a 
much needed reform before he hastens to make qualifi- 
cations suggested by experience and reflection. The 
reform is not a cure-all, not a nostrum infallible in all 
cases, but is good under such and such conditions. He 
proceeds to quote its hostile critics, and to show just 
wherein they are right. Almost all the great pedagog- 
ical reformers have been men of one idea. Mr. Philbrick 
was a many-sided reformer, and held that a reform is 
unworthy of its name until it can be reduced to practice. 

With his wide glance taking in the entire field of edu- 
cation and cordially recognizing genuine merit every- 
where, it was quite natural that he came to be recognized 
himself in all quarters of the world. In Spain, Russia, 
Japan, Austria, Belgium, England, and Scotland, and 
especially in France, he was the best known of American 
educators, and all foreign circles were prompt to acknowl- 
edge his eminence and show him honor. It was fortunate 
for our nation that Massachusetts sent this man to take 
charge of its educational exhibit in 1873 at the world expo 
sition at Vienna. It was more fortunate that the Bureau 
of Education selected him in 1878 as commissioner in 
charge of our national educational exhibit at Paris. He 
took in the situation at a glance. Being thoroughly 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 75 

familiar with the peculiarities of all systems he could come 
at once to the special point of interest in our own sys- 
tem which he wished to bring to the attention of the for- 
eigner. To this ability is due the fact that Massachusetts 
secured a grand diploma of honor at the Vienna Expo- 
sition. At Paris, America carried off the lion's share of 
honor for its education. It received 121 awards, more 
than any other nation except France herself. He secured 
for us by his unremitting diligence twenty-eight gold 
medals, forty-four silver, and twenty-four bronze medals, 
besides twenty-five certificates of honorable mention. 
The French Directory distinguished him personally for 
his able efforts by creating him a " Chevalier of Honor " 
and an " Officer of Public Instruction " (with the insignia 
of gold palm and title of "Officer of the Academy"), 
while the ancient and venerable University of St. An- 
drews in Scotland gave him the degree of Doctor of 
Laws, "holding in regard," as the Senatus declared, " the 
high merits of Mr. Philbrick's work in the sphere of edu- 
cation." 

The Belgian Inspector of Schools declared that at 
Vienna he learned more from Dr. Philbrick than from 
all other sources. The Japanese ministry make a sim- 
ilar strong acknowledgment of his aid to them in plant- 
ing English schools in Japan. In foreign accounts of 
education in the United States, the Boston system always 
bears away the palm as the highest type of our national 
system of education. In the generous report of M. C. 
Hippeau on our education, in the very favorable report 
of Bishop Fraser, in the hostile exposition of Rev. James 



7G JOHN D. PIIILBRICK. 

H. Rigg, and finally in the accurate presentation of our 
system in Mr. Francis Adams' masterly work on The 
Free Schools of 'the United States, Boston stands foremost 
in a rank all by itself. 

M. Buisson, French Commissioner to our Philadelphia 
Exposition, commends in high terms the Boston schools 
and pays equal honor to Mr. Philbrick. He commends 
the plans of the Boston school buildings and the civil be- 
havior of the pupils. Mr. Philbrick's school reports were 
and are eagerly sought for by all directors of educa- 
tional systems, both here and in Europe. They find an 
author who discusses questions of education in the full 
light of existing practice everywhere. 

These gratifying tokens of recognition of the subject 
of our eulogium suggest to us that there is a side to his 
personal character which has been dwelt on by those who 
have spoken here to-day before me, that has a national 
and even international significance. His conciliatory 
habit of mind, always endeavoring to see both sides of a 
question and always trying to do justice to opponents, 
was the basis of a cordial relation that grew up between 
himself and fellow-educators everywhere in this country 
and in Europe. 

In private life his amiability was charming. He 
seemed to feel it his duty to encourage young men in 
the profession by kind words of appreciation wherever 
he could see any merit. In his official visits to the 
schools he made the teacher feel that he was a friend 
and " not a mere taskmaster trying to spy out defects." 

Through his labor on a programme of exercises for the 



PUBLIC SERVICES. 77 

school he strove to break up the mechanical modes of 
drill which crept into the system. Inasmuch as educa- 
tion accomplishes its good things by repetition and drill, 
the best work of the teacher is continually liable to de- 
generate into lifeless routine. It is true that in habit and 
routine lies the force of moral education. What are reg- 
ularity, punctuality, silence, and industry, the four car- 
dinal virtues of school training, but mechanical habits 
when thoroughly learned, — notwithstanding they lie at 
the basis all moral training whatsoever. The pupil must 
learn self-restraint and subjugate his caprice and wilful- 
ness before he can become a thoroughly rational being. 
How to balance spontaneity and prescription is the con- 
stant problem in education, and this Dr. Philbrick knew 
better than any other man. 

It must be acknowledged that the work of the school 
superintendent is, even at the best, nine tenths of it 
negative and preventive, to one tenth positive and con- 
structive. He has constant need of vigilance to repress 
one-sided and injurious efforts, — to hold back even the 
good teachers, even the good members of the school 
committee, from extremes. An excellent superintendent 
appears to outsiders as though he were a mere balance- 
wheel, or even a dead weight, hindering vital movement 
and adding no momentum himself. 

But the superintendent must see the real healthy, vital 
movement of the system of schools, and, like a good phy- 
sician, prevent congestions and inflammations in any of 
its parts. Occupied in this way for most of his time he 
can never receive his full meed of appreciation. He will 



78 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

have bitter enemies in the schools and outside of the 
schools. 

Happy, therefore, was Dr. Philbrick in his uncomplain- 
ing, unresenting disposition. Even in his last great trial, 
the gradual shutting down of darkness upon his eyesight, 
he was never known to complain, and only once indicated 
the great affliction which his blindness was to him. 
When he found that his eyesight failed to distinguish 
the large letters of a new Bible which had been pur- 
chased for his daily reading, the tears silently coursed 
down his cheeks, observed only by his faithful mate, no 
word indicating his deep sorrow. 

His cheerfulness and courage in all emergencies was a 
perpetual fountain of strength to all his teachers and co- 
workers in the system of education wherein he performed 
his life work. 

In taking leave of him after this brief and inadequate 
summary of the events which have made him so widely 
known and respected by educators at home and abroad, 
there comes into my mind the words that I love to quote 
from the prophet Daniel, — the words which are quoted 
in the epitaph on the tomb of Fichte in Berlin : — 

" The teachers shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as 
the stars forever and ever." 



Reform 

of 

The Tenure of Office of Teachers. 



By John D. Philbrick, LLD. 



Reform of the Tenure of Office of Teachers. 



Good teachers, and what next ? There is no next. 
This is the meaning of Jules Simon in his saying, "The 
master is the school." In this sense the great German 
pedagogue, when asked what his system was, made the 
well-known reply, "I am the system." This was Gar- 
field's thought, when paying a merited tribute to his great 
college-master, he said, " Give me a log hut with only a 
simple bench, Mark Hopkins on one end and I on the 
other, and you may have all the buildings, apparatus, and 
libraries." This was Horace Mann's idea in declaring 
the teacher's seminary to be one of the greatest instru- 
mentalities for the improvement of the race. Hence, 
the pivotal question in pedagogy is the question of the 
teacher, everywhere and always. The cause of education 
and the cause of the teacher are one. The best criterion 
of merit in a school system is to be found in the char- 
acter and qualities of the teachers in its service. 

There is no really fruitful educational reform which does 
not provide for increasing the competence of teachers. 
The originators and founders of our normal school system, 
Olmstead, Carter, Russell, Brooks, Mann, Barnard, and 
others, all maintained and acted upon this theory. They 
held that the end in view, the ideal education, imparted 

(81) 



82 JOHN D. PUILBIUCK. 

in the ideal school, could come only through the ideal 
teacher. In maintaining this theory they stood on solid 
ground ; their position was impregnable. The instru- 
mentality which they advocated as essential for the real- 
ization of their idea, was the normal school for the profes- 
sional training of teachers. Too much cannot be said in 
praise of their labors and devotion to this great cause. 
The establishment of normal schools was a great achieve- 
ment. It is not to be doubted that the normal school is 
an essential element in a good school system. But his- 
tory does not justify the assumption that it is the funda- 
mental requisite for securing competent teachers. Some- 
thing else more fundamental still is necessary to the full 
success and the full utilization of the capabilities of the 
normal school. That prerequisite is a desirable status 
for the teacher who has made his preparation in the nor- 
mal school. 

The creation of such a status has no doubt been too 
much overlooked and neglected by our educational leaders 
and reformers, and the reason is obvious. The indispen- 
sable requisite for such a status is security, — certainty 
of position ; such security and certainty of position as is 
afforded by tenure of office during efficiency and good 
behavior. Fifty years ago this reform was impracticable. 
Every school system must, in the nature of things, be in 
substantial harmony with the other institutions of the 
country where it exists. In forming the school system 
of France, Guizot and Cousin took lessons of Prussia and 
Holland, but they were obliged to adapt their plan to 
the actual state of things in their own country. 



REFORM OF TENURE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 83 

Mr. Forster, on drawing up his school bill, the new 
Magna Charta of the English people, had at his command 
all the available results of foreign experience ; but he 
was under the necessity of shaping every provision with 
reference to existing national institutions and customs. 
So our educational pioneers of half a century ago had to 
shape the fabric and spirit of our school system, so far 
as they were instrumental in introducing modifications 
and improvements, in conformity with existing polit- 
ical and social arrangements. Hence any attempt on 
their part to advocate any reform relating to the status 
of the teacher, in conflict with the prevailing theory and 
practice touching the status of other public servants, 
would have been impracticable and utterly futile. Im- 
provements do not advance on all lines simultaneously. 
They made advancement where advancement was pos- 
sible. 

Now what was the status of public officers and em- 
ployes, whether in the service of the Nation, the State, 
or the municipality, fifty years ago, in respect to tenure 
of office ? Our political institutions are founded upon 
the theory that public officers are public servants, and 
precisely at that period, more than at any time in our 
history, the opinion prevailed that the officers and em- 
ployes of the public had no interest or property whatever 
in the offices and situations which they occupied. Out of 
this prevailing sentiment grew the pernicious custom of 
what is called rotation in office ; where the tenure of 
office was not fixed by law, as in the case of the Judiciary, 
custom limited the tenure to one or two years. Taking 



84 JOUN D. PHILBRICE. 

advantage of the prevalence of this sentiment, which 
claimed for itself the credit of being the spirit of true 
democracy, President Jackson inaugurated the custom 
of removing officers without regard to their qualifications 
for their duties or their behavior. 

The assumption and exercise of this arbitrary authority 
made the public officers in the service of the Nation de- 
pendent for their bread and butter on the will of the 
executive. Nearly all State officers, from the governor 
down, held their office, for the most part, for a single 
year only ; the same was the case with municipal officers, 
including school committee. In some States even the 
judges of the highest court were elected by the people, 
to hold office for a short determinate period ; and so the 
office of teacher of public schools, which, in the days of 
Master Cheever, was held by life tenure, was made to con- 
form to the general custom in respect to tenure of office; 
and even the clergy, who had always held by life tenure, 
began to hold by a limited tenure. He, therefore, must 
have been not only a bold man, but an unwise one, who, 
as an educational reformer, should have in those days 
dreamed of undertaking to render the status of the 
teacher more desirable by advocating for him a perma- 
nent tenure of office. Hence the reformers of those days 
directed their efforts to other objects. 

But an immense change has taken place since that 
time in public opinion, as well as in legislative provision, 
respecting the tenure of office of public officials. The 
civil service reform, to which has been accorded the 
largest plank in the platform of the dominant political 



REFORM OF TENURE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 85 

party, is a declaration of the principle that Justice to ser- 
vants is essential to good service, and that justice is incom- 
patible with the tenure of office, which carries with it no 
ownership or interest on the part of the incumbent. 

The essence of the civil service reform consists in its 
aim to substitute a permanent tenure of office for the 
short and uncertain tenure ; all the rest is incidental. 
This carries with it appointments and promotions by 
merit, and not by favoritism. This revolution in public 
sentiment has made the opportunity to undertake a 
reform in the status of the teacher by making his tenure 
of office permanent. To secure a permanent tenure 
of office for teachers in the public schools is the next 
great step to be taken in the interest of the people's 
schools. In my judgment this is the most important 
educational reform of our school system that has ever 
been undertaken. The substitution of the permanent 
tenure for the present precarious limited tenure would 
doubtless be regarded by teachers as a great boon, but I 
am looking more especially to the public welfare, — the 
public interest is the paramount interest. 

The theory which it is my present purpose to pro- 
pound and advocate is this : Permanency of tenure would 
enormously increase the desirableness of the teacher's 
status ; that while it costs nothing to the public to grant 
this permanency, to the teachers it would be an inesti- 
mable boon, ; that, as a means of compensating teachers, 
it would be equivalent to a vast increase of school rev- 
enue ; that the salary, even though raised to the highest 
practicable limit, when subject to the offset of short and 



80 JOHN i>. PEILBBIOK. 

precarious tenure, with all its train of evils, is insufficient 
to bring into the service of teaching, and retain there the 
requisite teaching talent. In substance, then, the ques- 
tion of permanent tenure for teachers is, in the first 
place, a question of economy, — the question of conser- 
vation of forces ; that is, the question whether the money 
compensation of teachers shall be in effect largely sup- 
plemented by what costs nothing. In the second place, 
it is a question <>f educational results, — for salary plus 
permanent tenure is the indispensable condition of the 
ideal leaching corps, and hence the indispensable con- 
dition of the ideal school and the ideal education. 

The reasoning on which this theory is based is ex- 
tremely simple, and is the following : 

i. Permanancy of sit nation everywhere and always 
counts largely with the salary in estimating the emolu- 
ment of the situation, and it is self-evident that these 
two elements together are greater than one of them 
alone. 

2. The addition of permanency of tenure to salary is 
necessary to make teaching a career sufficiently attractive 
for persons of ability and culture, as a life work, and it 
is only from such persons devoted to teaching as a life 
work that the best teaching can come. 

This reasoning is the plain lesson of history, which he 
who runs may read. It is well known that the German 
Stall's, and more especially Prussia, took the lead in the 
organization and development of the modem system of 
public instruction, And it appears that in Prussia from 
the outset the life tenure of office for the teachers was 



BEFOEM OF TENURE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 87 

adopted as the first principle of the incipient system; 
and, in fact, the Prussian law long ago expressly prohib- 
ited the appointment of any regular teacher for a deter- 
minate period. This was the original stock upon which 
improvements were from time to time grafted, until at 
length its present vigor, completeness, and symmetry 
of development have been produced. Forty years ago 
Horace Mann thus characterized the teachers produced 
by this system: "As a body of men their character is 
more enviable than that of any of the three so-called 
'professions.'" In all the other European countries the 
point of departure and the process of development have 
been substantially the same. It is safe, I think, to say 
that in no one of them has it been thought expedient to 
attempt to carry on a system of schools on the plan of 
choosing teachers for a short, determinate period. 

On the other hand, it seems to have everywhere been 
taken for granted that there could not be such a thing as 
an efficient and economical school system without making 
provision for securing the services of teachers who should 
be devoted to the business of instruction as a life pro- 
fession. Accordingly, we find that, although public 
school teachers have, perhaps, nowhere received entirely 
satisfactory treatment, they have generally been secure 
in their position and in their revenues, all too slender 
though they may have been. Thus the beginning was 
made by laying a foundation for a status of dignity and 
independence. This was all important as the initial pro- 
vision. The rest followed logically, although not without 
delays and difficulties. As it is the teacher that gives 



88 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

character to the school, which no well-informed person 
will deny, so we find that most of the measures of prog- 
ress and improvement have been such as were calculated 
to ameliorate the condition and elevate the status of the 
teacher, to provide better professional training, to im- 
prove the scheme of examination and certificating of can- 
didates, to increase the compensation, to secure a more 
competent and trustworthy superintendence and inspec- 
tion, to afford the best means of appreciating and reward- 
ing merit. These were the objects always uppermost in 
the aims and efforts of intelligent promoters of educa- 
tional progress. And thus by degress have been created 
the conditions requisite to render teaching a veritable 
career ; not a career, indeed, leading to wealth and lux- 
ury, but a career of assured independence, dignity, and 
support. 

In our country the point of departure and the process 
of development have been quite different from those we 
have considered. We have undertaken to develop and 
build up an efficient system of instruction while acting 
on the assumption that the teacher cannot be recognized 
as having a claim to any ownership in a position of 
service. 

In a French report on English schools it is stated as a 
curious absurdity, that at the annual meeting of the 
trustees of a certain old endowed school in London, the 
headmaster is summoned into their presence, and in- 
formed that the term of his service is at an end and the 
mastership vacant. Thereupon, if he desires to be con- 
sidered a candidate for reelection he so states, and retires 



REFORM OF TENURE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 89 

and waits for the result of the ballot. This is a type of 
the tenure of office of substantially all American public 
school teachers. Their position is not assured beyond 
the term of one year. Nor is this the worst condition 
of their tenure ; there is a lower deep yet. In general, 
the public school teacher may be dismissed within the 
year for which he is elected by a majority of the school 
board, the teacher so dismissed having no legal right to 
a previous notice, a hearing, or appeal to a superior 
authority. This is 'the tenure in Massachusetts, and so 
far as I have been able to ascertain, it is substantially 
the same in other states. 

Mr. Boutwell, in speaking of this in his commentary 
on the Massachusetts school law, justly remarks, "This 
power is as nearly absolute as any power in our govern- 
ment." In point of law, therefore, the American public 
school teacher holds office securely not even for the short 
period of one year. His position, salary, and professional 
standing are absolutely at the mercy of the local com- 
mittee. A majority of a quorum of the school board, by 
a secret ballot, may dismiss him without a day's notice, 
without bringing any charge against him, and the dis- 
missal so made is absolute and final. This tenure may 
have some slight safeguards in some states, or some in- 
dividual cities ; if so, let them be known and credited 
therefor. The only exception within my knowledge 
worthy of mention is that of the city of New York, where 
the tenure is permanent, removals being made only for 
cause. It has been ascertained that in the cities of 
Brooklyn, Jersey City, and Newark, the tenure is also 



90 JOHN D. PHILBIilCK. 

during efficiency and good behavior. In our system, 
therefore there has been provided as yet no solid foun- 
dation upon which to build up a desirable status for the 
teacher ; consequently little has been done to environ the 
teacher's office with the subsidiary guarantees requisite 
to constitute a career of teaching service. The condition 
of absolute insecurity and dependence in respect to posi- 
tion is necessarily compensated in some degree by the 
rate of the salary. In fact, our system, instead of taking 
permanency of tenure as the point of departure from 
which to develop a competent teaching corps in accord- 
ance with the opinion and practice prevailing in all other 
enlightened countries, has relied primarily and mainly 
upon compensation in money as the mainspring in the 
scheme for securing the desired teaching service. 

This peculiarly and distinctively American feature of 
public instruction is coeval with the modern organization 
of our school system. It has been on trial for a long 
time, on an extensive scale and with all sorts of condi- 
tions. It is time now to ask, What has been the outcome 
of this experiment ? In reply to this question it may be 
said, without contradiction, that the American plan of 
dealing with teachers has not built up a stable and perma- 
nent profession of teaching. 

The failure of our system of instruction to secure the 
services of a body of teachers devoted for life to the work 
was set forth in the remarkable Report on American 
Education by the French Commission, of which the emi- 
nent educator, M. Buisson, was the president, and con- 
trasted with the success in this respect of the French 



REFORM OF TENURE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 91 

system. " In France," says the reporter,* "one embraces 
the career of teaching with the intention of creating for 
himself a stable and permanent position. Those who 
abandon it before having obtained their retiring pension 
form the exception. The young beginner expects to live 
and die a teacher ; and each year of exercise adding to 
the experience previously acquired, a moment arrives 
when, possessing a competency of knowledge, both theo- 
retical and practical, he can conduct his school with 
method, with success, and thus limit the role of his supe- 
riors to simple encouragement and kindly advice. In the 
United States it is otherwise. The profession of a 
teacher would appear to be a sort of stage, where the 
girl waits for an establishment suited to her taste, and 
the young man a more lucrative position. For many 
young persons this temporary profession is the means of 
procuring the funds to continue their studies. Few mas- 
ters count more than four or five years of service, and if 
instructresses remain longer in the profession it must be 
remembered that marriage is ordinarily the end of their 
desires ; and that once married, they almost always 
withdraw from the service." 

If this is the correct statement of the case, and that it 
is, I think will be generally agreed, then our system has 
failed to create a stable, permanent profession of teach- 
ing ; while such a profession has been created not only 
by the French system, but by the systems of all other 
enlightened countries except our own. My inference is 

* Monsieur B. Berger, Inspector General and Director of National Peda- 
gogical Museum. 



02 JOHN D. PIIILB1UCK. 

that the failure of our system in this vital particular is 
owing to the short and precarious tenure of office of the 
teacher. No argument is needed to prove that, other 
things being equal, teaching as a career, as a life-work, 
yields vastly better results than teaching as a temporary 
occupation. 

I would not be understood, however, to admit for a 
moment that our system of free schools, as a whole, has 
been a failure ; on the contrary, it has been a great suc- 
cess, whatever may be said in its disparagement from 
ignorance or bad intent. The last thought given to the 
world by Barnas Sears, than whom no higher authority 
on the subject can be cited, bore on this point, and was 
expressed in the following words : " If the old district 
school in New England, imperfect as it was, bore good 
fruit, which none deny, the modern system, with its man- 
ifold improvements, has borne them much more abun- 
dantly ; and yet we have not reached the goal for which 
we are striving." This is the testimony of a wise and 
true reformer, ripe in wisdom, and experience, who recog- 
nized and defended acquisitions already won while ear- 
nestly striving for still further advancement. 

The goal for which we are all confessedly striving is 
the most economical and efficient system of instruction, 
and the history of education proves that the best results 
in instruction are produced only where teaching is pur- 
sued as a career for life ; and second, it teaches also that 
permanency of tenure is essential as a means of rendering 
teaching a desirable career. 

To render the permanent tenure effectual it must be 



REFORM OF TENURE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 93 

accompanied by a permanent, that is, an irreducible sal- 
ary, as control of salary is virtually control of tenure. 

We know what the objector to this plan will say : Your 
permanent tenure, with its irreducible salary, constitutes 
without doubt a desirable status for the teacher, provid- 
ing the rate of salary is not too low. Whatever other 
tribulations may await the teacher, he has no longer any 
risks to run ; he has no longer to submit to an annual 
humiliation in the shape of an annual election ; his repu- 
tation and his living are no longer at the mercy of incom- 
petent and prejudiced school officers. His status is in- 
vested with dignity and independence ; he can hold up 
his head like a man, and look the whole world in the face. 
But in all this what have we done but shift the risk from 
the employe to the employer, from the teacher to the 
public ; you have insured the teacher against risk, but 
what guaranty has the public that the teacher will do his 
duty when he has no longer the fear of losing his situ- 
ation, to act as a spurr to effort Are not the annual 
election and the power of summary dismissal necessary 
means of stimulating teachers to vigorous and sustained 
effort, and of removing those who are delinquent and 
incompetent ; and, besides, is not this permanency of 
tenure contrary to the spirit of our free institutions, and 
too un-American to find favor with us ? 

To this question, which embodies the substance of all 
that can be said in favor of annual election, and the 
power of summary dismissal, I reply : First, that the pre- 
carious tenure has not been found necessary for the end 
in view in any other enlightened country on the globe ; 



94 JOHN B. PHILBEICK. 

and, second, in our own country, the annual election is 
unknown in universities, colleges, and the higher educa- 
tional institutions, generally, outside of the public school 
system, so that this odious annual election has no place 
in the civilized world except the public schools of the 
United States. But we do not deny that the public 
should be guaranteed against risk as well as the teacher. 
In the adjustment of compensation and service the rela- 
tion of risks must always be taken into account. In this 
case the guaranty of the public against risk is perfectly 
feasible, as experience has satisfactorily proved. This 
guaranty consists of six distinct provisions : 

i. A thorough professional training of teachers in 
normal schools suited to their destined functions. This 
is necessary as the primary guaranty against the appoint- 
ment of teachers without the requisite qualifications. 
And it is evident that the state could afford a more lib- 
eral expenditure for the education of a teacher who is to 
serve the public thirty or forty years than for the teacher 
who is to serve only three or four years. Only a small 
fraction of the teachers now engaged in the service are 
graduates of normal schools, there being no one state 
that has not recoiled before the task of securing to the 
whole body of teachers a professional education, and this 
is because of the very great number of teachers which 
teaching as a temporary employment necessitates. 

2. Another guaranty should be provided by a system 
of examining and certificating teachers by experts wholly 
under the control of the central authorities ; and, besides, 
the local certificate, the only one, with few exceptions, 



REFORM OF TENURE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 95 

now issued, does little for the establishment of the stand- 
ing and reputation of the holder. But a certificate 
granted by the central authority, and valid throughout 
the state, would create a professional rank and standing 
which would elevate the status of the holders.* 

3. As a third condition requisite to the permanent 
tenure, probationary service must be provided. The 
candidate must not only have his certificate, but he must 
prove his capacity by actual service in teaching, before he 
can claim a definitive appointment. The period of pro- 
bation should not be less than two years, and it might 
well be three or four. The judgment on the result 
should be rendered by one or more approved experts. If 
a further guaranty against failure is deemed expedient, it 
may be obtained by an examination at the end of the pro- 
bation, bearing especially on the practical work of the 
schoolroom. 

4. As to the choice to be made among candidates thus 
prepared, the most judicious method appears to be for 
the superior school authority to nominate three or four 
candidates, having regard both to seniority and merit, 
and that the election from this list should be left to the 
local committee. 

5. Provision for a suitable hierarchical situation for the 
teacher. Such a situation would comprise a competent 
supervision and the other means requisite for stimulating 
the teacher to the best efforts, by recognizing his worth 
and rewarding his merits ; and such a situation would 
also comprise the necessary machinery for administering 

* Provision has been made for state certificates in a few of the states. 



96 JOHN i>. PHILBBICK. 

just and salutary discipline in cases of delinquency. In 
France the hierarchical situation is so well contrived that 
the young man of talents, entering upon his career as 
primary teacher in the remotest mountain hamlet, may 
hope to reach, by well-earned promotions, the principal- 
ship of a metropolitan school, or to become director of a 
normal school, or even inspector. 

"It is the function of a good administration," says the 
eminent Belgian publicist and educator, De Laveleye, 
" !o seek by fixed rules which science indicates to ascer- 
tain merit, and to class individuals according to their ap- 
titudes; then there would be an end of solicitations, of 
subserviency, of intrigues, of protections, of favors, of 
injustices." And this is the paradise for which the 
teacher prays, lie wants to feci that he owes his posi- 
tion to his merit, and not to favor, and to be sure that his 
efforts will be appreciated and recompensed. It is per- 
il, ips, in vain to hope that the public school teacher's 
path may be strewn with roses, but hitherto it has been 
too much hedged up with briers and thorns; but the su- 
preme misery of his lot is to be judged by incompetents. 
This would necessarily be mitigated by the better super- 
vision which the permanent tenure would require. 

6. A retiring pension is requisite, not only as a secur- 
ity lor old age, but. as a means of rendering practicable 
the retirement of the aged and fatigued public servant, 
without reflecting on his reputation or abandoning him 
to destit ntion. 

These six conditions are logically involved in the full 
and complete application of the principle of fixity of ten- 



BEFOEM OF TEN U HE OF OFFICE OF TEACHERS. 97 

ure. Moreover, they are at the same time the means of 
producing an equilibrium of risks and of authorities, 
which experience has proved to be indispensable to the 
most efficient, economical, and harmonious working of a 
school system. 

In every point of view this reform in our system seems 
to me fundamental in its importance ; all others are but 
secondary, subordinate, accessory. It may seem to the 
timid to be a bold undertaking, but it is not more bold in 
the present circumstances than was the project of state 
normal schools, or the project of a state board of educa- 
tion fifty years ago. Every epoch has its peculiar task. 
This reform I verily believe to be the task of the hour 
for the friends of educational progress. Public senti- 
ment is now everywhere drifting in this direction. In 
the powerful movement which has been begun to reform 
the civil service, I plainly see the dawning of a new and 
better day for the public school and the public school 
teacher. The press is daily teeming with arguments for 
our cause, for the principles of a good civil service are 
essentially the same as the principles of a good educa- 
tional service. Hence the achievement of the civil ser- 
vice reform will prepare the way for this reform. The 
spoils system and the annual election are twin barbar- 
isms, and with the abolition of the former the latter 
must go. 

But permanent tenure is not to be brought into suc- 
cessful operation by a single legislative act. This rad- 
ical reform must be reached by a series of steps. Initia- 
tory steps have already been taken in various quarters. 



98 JOHN D. PHIL BRICK. 

It is worthy of mention that, at the late session of the 
Massachusetts Legislature, the chairman of the Commit- 
tee on Public Service offered to include the teaching 
service in the provision of the civil service reform bill 
reported by his committee. This reform must begin 
practically in the cities and larger towns. Teachers have 
their duty in connection with this task. Everywhere 
they should pour in their petitions and memorials upon 
the legislatures, throughout the country, and do their 
share of the work in creating public opinion which shall 
demand this reform. 



Last Days 



and 



Funeral Rites. 



Last Days and Funeral Rites. 



LAST DATS. 



Dr. Philbrick's last sickness probably dates back to the 
spring of 1882, when he made a journey to the far West. 
This journey involved some long and tedious rides, 
which, with the- labor of visiting schools, were too great 
a tax upon his strength. In June, after his return home, 
he was so ill as to call his family physician, Dr. Carlton. 
For two months, July and August, he was confined to 
the house, in which time he read much, and often in bed. 
In October he seemed to take a severe cold, which so 
affected his eyes that they were sore and painful. In 
time, as the result of some simple remedies, they became 
comparatively well, but, when the cold winds of winter 
set in, they again became very painful, so much so that 
Dr. Carlton wished an oculist to see them. 

Accordingly, Dr. Coggin of Salem was called to see 
him in January, 1883. He pronounced the disease a 
severe rheumatic affection, but he also saw indications of 
what his friends had already feared, namely, a loss of 
sight. This Dr. Philbrick had himself feared from the 
very first, as an inherited trouble, because several of his 
relatives on his mother's side had been totally blind. 

(101) 



102 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

In January, 1884, Drs. Coggin and Carlton performed 
an operation upon one eye, hoping to let more light into 
it, but the operation was not a success, and so the exper- 
iment was not repeated upon the other eye. From this 
time on his sight became more and more impaired. Still 
he was able to move about his own house with compar- 
ative ease ; but, when in a strange place, he moved so 
much more cautiously that he seemed to see much less 
than at home. 

In the spring of 1884 he began his work on City 
School Systems in the United States. His devoted wife 
read to, and wrote for him. So constantly did he work 
that, by the end of August, he had the work more than 
half written. At that time he employed an amanuensis, 
Miss Dudley, a relative of his, who spent a year with 
him. She was a graduate of the Salem Normal School, 
and was thus pretty well prepared for the work required 
of her. During the year which Miss Dudley read and 
wrote for him, he finished his work on City Systems, and 
wrote the paper on School Reports, which is printed in 
the Proceedings of the Council of Education for 1885 ; he 
also did a great amount of preparatory reading, making 
notes, etc., for a work on State Systems, which he hoped 
to write in the winter of 1885-6. It was in the summer 
of 1884 that he gave the address before the American 
Institute on " Reform of Tenure of Office of Teachers." 

In the summer of 1885 he, in company with Mrs. Phil- 
brick, went to Hanover, where he served on the examin- 
ing committee of the college ; then to Newport to the 
meeting of the American Institute, then to Saratoga to 



LAST DAYS AND FUNERAL BITES. 103 

attend the meetings of the Council of Education. Ail 
these meetings he enjoyed very much, especially those at 
Saratoga, where he met so many western friends. In 
September of the same year he visited his old home in 
Deerfield. It seems not unlikely that all the work of 
this summer was too much for his impaired strength, for 
the first severely cold weather in December seemed to 
affect him unfavorably, so much so that he said he 
"could not think well." 

There were several times during the last year of his 
life when he could not speak the word he wished to use 
when talking, and twice he lost entirely the power of 
speech for an instant. This he felt to be " an indication 
of something serious," a premonition of what came at 
last and caused his death. He once spoke to his doctor 
of it, though, in talking of it, he called it a trouble of the 
heart ; so it would seem doubtful whether he felt clear 
in his own mind what the real nature of the trouble was. 

The weather of the week preceding his fatal attack 
was very cold, so that he gave up his ride which he was 
accustomed to take almost every day ; this was through 
fear of bringing on pain in his eyes. Up to Saturday, 
the 16th of January, 1885, he had hoped he should be 
able to go to Boston the next week to attend the Quincy 
School reunion, but that day he said if it continued so 
cold he could not go. On Sunday he did not seem as 
well as usual. He complained of headache, so much so 
that his wife did not leave him to attend church. When 
Monday morning came he said he did not feel like get- 
ting up, but must dictate some letters, one especially to 



104 JOHN I). PIIILBRICK. 

the Quincy School boys. His wife advised him to wait 
till afternoon, hoping he might get some sleep and feel 
better. He took his dinner in bed and then dictated 
three letters. 

It was then so late that Mrs. Philbrick feared the 
amanuensis would not have time to copy them before the 
mail would leave, and stepped down into the library to 
help her. When she went back to him, he said, " It has 
come; something is the matter with my arm." His 
wife, thinking it might be numbness, rubbed his arm, 
but he evidently thought differently. She gave him 
some hot drinks, hoping to start the circulation more 
freely, and he soon seemed to feel better. When tea- 
time came he took a cup of tea and a bit of toast. Mrs. 
Philbrick then went down to supper, and upon her 
return inquired how he felt, but he could not readily 
answer, and she became alarmed and summoned the 
nearest physician. 

This was on Monday evening, Jan. 18, 1886. Dr. 
Philbrick gradually sank, and died the second day of 
February following. 

Thus ended a noble life. Never was the true nobility 
of his nature more clearly manifested than during those 
years of approaching darkness. It was the good fortune 
of the writer to visit him often in his home during that 
time, and he never failed to be impressed with the sweet- 
ness of his nature and the cheerful Christian resignation 
with which he bore his great misfortune. Indeed, from 
anything in the tone of his conversation, no one could 
ever mistrust that he thought approaching blindness any- 



LAST DAYS AND FUNERAL BITES. 105 

thing more than a part of the experience that was ap- 
pointed for him by a kind Father. Then with what 
kindness and broad charity he always spoke of his for- 
mer co-workers ! He seemed delighted to remember all 
the good and noble deeds and all the generous words 
which he had known of others, but to consign differences 
to oblivion. Many a silent blessing and inspiration has 
been carried from that noble, patient presence. He still 
lives in word and deed. 

THE FUNERAL SERVICES. 

The funeral of Dr. Philbrick was at his home in Dan- 
vers, Feb. 4. The public schools of Boston were closed 
for the day as a token of respect to his memory. The 
day was one of the coldest and most uncomfortable of 
the season, and yet a large number of friends from Bos- 
ton attended the services. Among them were the super- 
intendent of schools, several members of the Board of 
Supervisors, a large number of the principals, and sev- 
eral former members of the School Committee who had 
served with Mr. Philbrick. In addition to these, many 
teachers from other towns, many business men, and a 
large number of neighbors and friends from Danvers 
were in attendance, so that the house was crowded with 
those desirous of honoring the distinguished dead. 

The Boston masters showed their old-time love by tak- 
ing with them a beautiful floral tribute in the form of a 
closed book, on the cover of which was a crescent of 
roses and lilies, and within the crescent the word 



106 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

CLOSED made of carnations. The casket was placed 
in the parlor beneath a fine oil portrait of the deceased. 
The portrait was entwined with smilax. The tribute of 
the Boston masters was placed at the foot of the casket. 
The services were conducted by Rev. Charles B. Rice, 
of Danvers, Mr. Philbrick's pastor. He read from the 
Scriptures the solemn sentences for the dead, beginning 
with the passage, " Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling 
place in all generations," and following with the twenty- 
third Psalm, and with other selections setting forth the 
Christian hope concerning the resurrection of the dead 
and the life to come. He made, also, a brief address, 
reviewing such portions of Mr. Philbrick's life as had 
come under his own observation, and touching upon the 
singular value of the services he had rendered to the 
public. 

ADDRESS OF KEY. CHARLES B. RICE. 

Mr. Philbrick's chosen work has all been in the line of 
the elevation of mankind. It has been, throughout, a 
work of enlightenment, and instruction, and guidance for 
men. It was work of a higher order than that by which 
many persons gain for themselves distinction. Now that 
it is ended, his friends may review it with ample satisfac- 
tion and with gratitude. 

His life was in many ways representative, also, of the 
best things in New England. There hangs upon the 
wall a picture of his early home, — the house in which he 
was born, — a typical New England farmhouse. From 
such homes have come many of the men who have been 
most conspicuous in the world, and whose lives have 



LAST DATS AND FUNERAL BITES. 107 

most adorned and enriched the land. Mr. Philbrick him- 
self had always a love for the place of his nativity, and 
for all the places associated with the events of his domes- 
tic life. He cherished this sentiment with respect to 
this spot and the house within which these funeral ob- 
servances are held. Near at hand is the schoolhouse in 
which one of his first schools was taught. Still nearer 
stands the ancient house in which he found the lady who 
became his wife. It was characteristic, therefore, and 
fitting with him, that he should retire to spend here his 
closing years. The people of the neighborhood and 
town have taken great interest and satisfaction in his 
dwelling among them. He was himself, to a rare degree, 
a man of genial feelings and kindly sympathies. He 
entered easily into the thoughts of children. He was 
marked as much by gentleness as by breadth of mind. 
His calls at the parsonage, — one of which he made on 
the last day of his going abroad for such a purpose, — are 
remembered with interest by all the household. 

Mr. Philbrick had a wonderful enthusiasm and courage 
with respect to his work, holding on upon it in the face 
of serious and increasing bodily infirmities. His mental 
force was in these last years in no wise abated, and his 
literary ability was scarcely at all relaxed. He left off 
his labors only with his life. 

There is need at such a time of the consolations and 
hopes of the Christian faith, since the end of every life, 
even the most successful and honorable, must be sad, if, 
indeed, all life ended with the present time. Mr. Phil- 
brick was a member, from his vouth, of a Christian 



108 JOHN I). FIULBRICE. 

church, a daily reader of the Bible, accustomed to recog- 
nize the hand of God in the disposings of human affairs 
and the orderings of nature, and a man having the 
deepest currents of his life devout, and reverent, and 
trustful. 

ADDRESS OF REV. DR. SPAULDING. 

It was my privilege to have formed an acquaintance 
with Mr. Philbrick at the outset of his college course. 
He was a member of a large class of nearly one hundred ; 
yet of that number he was individualized by the same 
characteristics which would be recognized by those who 
knew him only in his subsequent profession and career. 
In this way his character, and the life flowing out of that 
mind and character, seem a unit. It is the same stream, 
only becoming broader and fuller with the added work of 
years. 

No man in college was more noted than Mr. Philbrick 
for indefatigable industry. He was not a man of brill- 
iant parts, but he was a man of steady aim, of strong 
motive power, of inflexible perseverance, so that he was 
certain to accomplish, and to accomplish well, whatever 
he might undertake. It was equally certain that he 
would never propose to himself any common result, yet 
his was not a vaulting ambition, but a strong, mature, 
solid purpose. It was thus with his college studies. In 
the second year of his college course, when the students 
were called upon to volunteer to take up the study of the 
differential and integral calculus, Mr. Philbrick was one 
of the first to go into it. The writer said to him, "John, 



LAST DAYS AND FUNERAL RITES. 109 

what can you find in that which will be of any use? 
What can you do with it ? " Mr. Philbrick replied, 
"There is nothing that I can learn in this world that I 
cannot make use of somewhere and somehow." And 
this high standard of the value of knowledge he showed 
always, from first to last. 

His was not an allegiance to mere matters of intellect. 
He was a man of the strictest integrity, — a man of high 
moral principles in all the conduct of his life. He was 
as true to his convictions as the sun in its course. Mr. 
Philbrick always stood for what he deemed right, and, 
standing there, he never could be moved ; he was a wall 
of strength. To the younger members of his class, who 
at one time embraced views opposed to what he believed 
true, he proved a great help ; opposed to them in opin- 
ion, he labored so kindly, so faithfully, with a devotion 
so unyielding, that he led them to a deliberation upon the 
matter, and brought them to a thorough change of view. 

The same sterling firmness of character was seen in 
his connection with the public schools of Boston. He 
had early decided to give his life to education. This 
choice of a profession dated as far back as his sophomore 
year, and he had great affection and loyalty to it as a 
profession, feeling that it demanded and rewarded all a 
man's best powers. His theories were never abstract 
views, but matters of vital interest and practical impor- 
tance, and as such he grappled them " with hooks of 
steel." We know how true he was to his convictions in 
educational decisions. He would rather suffer personal 
defeat than give them up, and he did endure defeat 



HO JOHN D. PHILBBICE. 

many times ; but he persisted in what he thought right 
until his point was gained. Even in circumstances of 
great excitement, when he was most earnest for meas- 
ures, he was remarkably free from any bitter, unkind, or 
ungenerous judgments of those who differed from him in 
opinion. 

Both teachers and pupils could rely on his kindly sym- 
pathy ; he loved their work. No one could ask aid of 
him without feeling that he rejoiced to be a friend and a 
helper ; he sympathized with the difficulties of another 
by bending all his enthusiasm, all his energy, to over- 
come them. 

Mr. Philbrick's wonderful power of discipline was the 
natural outgrowth of the order, perseverance, and desire 
for progress seen in his early school life. When he came 
to regulate schools he knew all about them. When he 
was sent to Paris to arrange the educational department 
of the United States, it was evident that the government 
had put the right man in the right place. He did 
remarkable work as an organizer. Nothing was over- 
looked or neglected ; thoroughness of detail stood side 
by side with the great principle, " the greatest good of 
the greatest number." As a friend of the public schools 
no man has done more for their highest and best inter- 
ests. No words of eulogy are needed for him whose 
work has been to mould, to stimulate, and to elevate the 
minds of the youth of his time, and to place the results 
of the educational system of his country on a broad and 
permanent basis in the world's record. For ourselves, it 
is well that we should stop to look carefully at such a 



LAST LAYS AND FUNERAL BITES. HI 

work, to take fresh inspiration from so noble a life as 
that of John D. Philbrick. 

ADDRESS OF DANIEL B. HAGAR, Ph.D. 

Nearly forty years ago I made my first visit to the 
Ouincy School, in Boston, which was then under the 
charge of him over whose death we are now called to 
mourn. I had learned that the school was one of extraor- 
dinary excellence. I found it to be well worthy of its 
high reputation. Although a stranger to the master, he 
received me with that genuine courtesy which was one of 
his marked characteristics. From that day to the close 
of his life it was my great privilege to regard him as my 
warm and faithful friend. Coming to know him inti- 
mately, I found him in all respects worthy of esteem and 
confidence. His admirable personal qualities and his 
intellectual ability attracted to him hosts of friends, and 
commanded the highest respect of all who best knew 
him. To young teachers he was always kind, endearing 
himself to them by the interest he manifested in their 
welfare and the readiness with which he rendered aid in 
their behalf. 

Mr. Philbrick's work as an educator was too broad and 
comprehensive to admit of even an outline at the present 
time. His career was one of vast usefulness. His rep- 
utation as a leader in educational affairs is world-wide. 
Prof. L. W. Mason, while visiting all parts of Europe, 
investigating methods in his department of instruction, 
was everywhere greeted with kindly inquiries in regard 
to Dr. Philbrick, and listened to the warmest expressions 



112 JOHN I). PHILBRICK, 

of regard for him and his work. The Japanese Minister 
at Washington states that when commissioners of Japan 
had been appointed to examine systems of education, 
with reference to the adoption of the best system for 
Japan, they visited the principal cities of the United 
States, including Boston ; they carefully studied the lead- 
ing systems of Europe, and then returned to Boston, 
having decided that the Boston system, as devised and 
conducted by Superintendent Philbrick, was, in their 
judgment, the best. On their return to Japan, they took 
with them specimens of the school furniture and the 
various school appliances of Boston. To-day there may 
be found in Tokio a Boston schoolroom in all its com- 
pleteness. As a result of Mr. Philbrick's labors, Boston 
has long been a Mecca for educators from all parts of the 
civilized world. 

His influence does not end with his life. His wise 
opinions on educational subjects have been embodied in 
a series of reports whose excellence has never been sur- 
passed, if ever equaled. Even after he had lost his eye- 
sight, so that he was compelled to write by dictation, he 
prepared for the National Bureau of Education a report 
on the city schools of the United States, whose great 
value cannot be overestimated. 

Mr. Philbrick held positive opinions on education, 
which he maintained with unflinching fidelity, — opinions 
which were not formed hastily, but were the outcome of 
extensive knowledge and careful deliberation. 

As an educator he may well serve as a model for 
young men who are ambitious to become distinguished 



LAST DAYS AND FUNERAL BITES. 113 

in the field of labor in which he wrought so long and so 
successfully. His life was one of constant usefulness. 
We who are teachers mourn over him as a departed 
friend. Death has come ; but to him " death is the 
crown of life." 

ADDRESS OF LARKIN DUNTON, LL.D. 

A great and good man has gone to his rest. We meet 
to-day to pay our last sad tribute of respect to his mem- 
ory. To know him was to trust him and to love him. 

Of all the men of the present generation who have 
devoted their lives to the cause of popular education, 
John D. Philbrick was the foremost. I think it not too 
much to say that among the educational men of all the 
civilized nations of the world there is not a living man 
to-day whose name is so widely and so favorably known. 
Not to know him is to be ignorant of the history of public 
education. 

His profound and minute knowledge of the origin and 
development of the public school system of Boston is well 
known to many of those present ; but his acquaintance 
with the school systems of other important cities in this 
country, and, indeed, with the school systems of all civil- 
ized nations, was just as profound and little less minute. 
I have often heard him say that the best data for deter- 
mining the value of educational theories and methods 
were the tendencies of educational practice among civil- 
ized nations, and judged by this standard no man was 
more competent. 

I remember well his first official visit to my school. I 



114 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

was then a subordinate teacher in a grammar school of 
Boston, where he was superintendent. After listening 
for half an hour to the school exercises, he drew me into 
general conversation upon schools, and in a few moments 
I believed myself in the presence of the wisest school 
man that I had ever known. This belief has been gain- 
ing strength for the last eighteen years. It was my priv- 
ilege to spend a day with him about a month ago in this 
very room. He was then in pretty good health and in 
excellent spirits. I never left him with so profound a 
sense of his great educational wisdom as on that evening. 

Another of his characteristics was his patience. I 
have never known a man who better understood the 
value of waiting. He was wonderfully tolerant of opin- 
ions at variance with his own, and was quite willing to 
wait till knowledge and reason had produced conviction. 

His mantle of charity was so broad that it covered 
friends and foes alike. For those who differed from him 
on matters of educational policy, and even for those who 
had caused him infinite labor and trouble, he was ever 
willing to accord the best of motives. He was preemi- 
nently a man of sweetness of temper. 

Add to this a serene and cheerful mind, a broad, cor- 
rect judgment, and a keen insight into the tendencies of 
educational movements, and you have the elements of 
character that made him so universally respected, trusted, 
and loved by the old Boston masters with whom he 
worked for so many years. 

To his stricken widow and other mourning relatives, 
permit me to say, that it has fallen to the lot of few mor- 



LAST DAYS AND FUNERAL BITES. 115 

tals to be so widely known, so highly respected, and so 
deeply loved. 

At the close of these addresses, Mr. Rice read the fol- 
lowing letters : 

LETTER FROM JOHN G. WHITTIER. 

Oak Ridge, 2d Mo., 4, 1886. 
Dear Mrs. Philbrick; — It is not possible for me to be 
present at the last services to thy honored husband and 
my very highly esteemed friend and neighbor. I had 
hoped, not without reason, that he would outlive me, and 
that we should after have the pleasure of meeting each 
other in the future. He leaves a noble record, and his 
memory will long be cherished as a wise and successful 
friend of learning, and as a worthy and upright citizen. 
With sincere sympathy, I am thy friend, 

John G. Whittier. 

LETTER FROM GEN. JOHN EATON. 

Marietta, O., Feb. 3, 1886. 
Mrs. Dr. Philbrick: — Deeply regretting the impossi- 
bility of my attending Dr. Philbrick's funeral, I am one 
of that great number who mourn his death as his per- 
sonal loss, and whose tenderest sympathies are with you. 
An able, scholarly, noble man, dear friend, great educa- 
tor, full of knowledge, wise to plan and faithful to exe- 
cute, his death is a calamity to sound learning the world 
over. John Eaton. 

The hymn of Addison, " The Spacious Firmament on 
High," which Mr. Philbrick learned when a boy, and 
which was always a favorite with him, and which he 
repeated during his last sickness, was read, and the exer- 



11G JOHN D. PUILB1UCK. 

cises closed with prayer and the benediction. The 
remains were then placed in the receiving tomb to await 
final burial in the spring. 

THE FINAL INTERMENT. 

The remains were removed from Danvers, Mass., the 
final interment taking place at Deerfield, N. H., May 3, 
1886. It was the wish of his neighbors and townsmen 
that, on this occasion, there should be some simple public 
services by which they could testify their love and re- 
spect to their honored friend. This was arranged for, 
and on a beautiful spring day, amid a crowded gathering 
of his early friends at his old homestead, his body was 
borne to its last rest by the arms of those who had been 
his pupils nearly fifty years before. Rev. Mr. Walker 
offered prayer at the house, and Rev. Mr. Kingsbury 
invoked a blessing at the grave. The following readings 
and address were given by his friend, Gilman H. Tucker. 

READINGS. 

" They that put their trust in the Lord are as Mount 
Zion, that cannot be moved, but abideth forever." 

" Man that is born of woman is of few days and full of 
trouble. He cometh forth like a flower and is cut down ; 
he fleeth also as a shadow and continueth not." 

" Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, 
believe also in me. In my Father's house are many 
mansions : if it were not so I would have told you. I go 
to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a 
place for you I will come again and receive you unto 
myself, that where I am there ye may be also." 



LAST DATS AND FUNERAL RITES. 117 

" Eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor the heart of 
man conceived the things which God hath prepared for 
them that love him." 

"And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, 
behold the tabernacle of God is with man ; and he will 
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God 
himself shall be with them and be their God." 

" I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, 
from henceforth blessed are the dead who die in the 
Lord, even so saith the spirit ; for they rest from their 
labors and their works do follow them." 

HYMNS. 

Rest for the toiling hand, 
Rest for the anxious brow, 
Rest for the weary, way-sore feet, 
Rest from all labor now. 

It is not death to bear 
The stroke that sets us free 
From earthly chain, to breathe the air 
Of boundless liberty. 

It is not death to fling 
Aside this mortal dust, 
And rise on strong, exulting wing 
To live among the just. 



We will not weep, for God is standing by us, 
And tears will blind us to the blessed sight ; 

We will not doubt ; if darkness still doth try us, 
Our souls have promise of serenest light. 

We will not faint ; if heavy burdens bind us 
They press no harder than our souls can bear : 



118 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

The thorniest way is lying still behind us ; 
We shall be braver for the past despair. 

Oh, not in doubt shall be our journey's ending, 
Sin, with its fears, shall leave us at the last ; 

All its best hopes in glad fulfillment blending, 
Life shall be with us when the Death is past. 

Help us, O Father, when the world is pressing 
On our frail hearts that faint without their friend ! 

Help us, O Father! let thy constant blessing 
Strengthen our weakness till the joyful end. 

ADDBKSS. 

Here we have met to perform this last sad act of love; 
here in the fragrant breath of spring, amid freshening 
green, the opening of flowers, and the song of birds, on 
this pleasant slope opening to the sun, in this sacred 
earth in which his fathers sleep ; from this outlook so 
full of that beauty of scene, upon which his eyes so many 
times lingered, and where they dwelt with such fondness 
and delight, — here we have come with tearful hearts and 
lovins: hands to commit the dear form of our relative and 
friend to its final rest. 

After a full life, long, and yet so short, filled with 
activity in the noblest of pursuits, the educating and up- 
lifting of mankind, world-wide reaching in its influence, 
crowned with success and honor, he has come to lie 
down in his final sleep upon this spot of earth, where his 
eyes first opened upon the strangeness of the world, and 
where again he was born into lofty aspirations and 
ambitions. 

Rest and sleep, — sleep and rest ; these are the touch- 



LAST DAYS AND FUNERAL BITES. 119 

ing symbols ; these, the sweetest of words known to 
toiling and suffering humankind, are what we use to 
describe this last stage in our mortal journey, — this 
which is not death, but transition. 

If a man die shall he live again ? Revelation answers, 
" Christ the divine has arisen." Eighteen Christian 
centuries have answered, and the great and good of all 
ages have answered. The human heart and human rea- 
son answer. Science answers that no particle of the 
universe can be destroyed. Can, then, the spirit which 
makes the human soul ? 

How great, then, is life ! change, transition, death, but 
through all, and in all, an ever-continuing life. In our 
memory and affections how strong and real is the life of 
our friend to-day ! How vivid he is in influence and 
power, — in that wide world wherein he moved and 
wrought. Can the influence of his good words and 
works ever have an end ? Not until you shall turn back 
time, and blot out the span of his mortal existence. 

And I see him now, as I saw him so lately, in yonder 
cemetery, planning and working to beautify and protect 
it ; as I saw him here, at his house, filled with a certain 
homeish gladness to be among these scenes, with old 
neighbors and townsmen, — simple, honest, working peo- 
ple that he loved. I see him with his noble, illumined 
face, his frank and winning manner, his hearty clasp of 
the hand, his serious words lighted up with flashes of 
pleasantry, — the warm welcome of his whole soul! I 
see in all his generous and sympathetic spirit, thoughtful 
of all but himself, constantly planning some individual or 



120 JOHN 1). I'UIL BRICK. 

public benefit, like the free public library which he estab- 
lished here in his native town. And in these last years 
I have seen him clothed in that gentle mist of divine 
patience, visible, through his natural buoyancy of spirits, 
only to loving eyes, with which he met his increasing 
loss of sight. 

So will that life he lived always exist in one form or 
another upon the earth. Thus living here, how much 
more shall there always be life for him in some happy 
sphere above and beyond. It is these great and good 
souls that quiet our doubting minds, that prove to us this 
truth of immortal life. To be forever with him we need 
only to be like him. Always, now and forever, we are 
with, one with, in heart, mind, and soul, those whom we 
are alike ; no height, nor depth, nor distance, nor time, 
can ever separate such as these. 

Now, as companions and travelers, we part for a little 
with our friend, who has finished one stage of the jour- 
ney and taken on another. Sweet, generous, gentle 
spirit, hail, but not farewell ! rather let us whisper our 
loving " good-night " till we all meet at the dawn of the 
great morning. 

I wage not any feud with Death, 

For changes wrought on form and face ; 
No lower life that earth's embrace 

May breed with him can fright my faith. 

Eternal process moving on, 

From state to State the spirit walks; 
And these are but the shatter'd stalks, 

Or ruin'd chrysalis of one. 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 



Eulogistic Letters. 



About two weeks after Dr. Philbrick's funeral, the 
New England Journal of Education published a memorial 
number, consisting of eulogistic letters from all parts of 
the country. These letters, perhaps, indicate as clearly 
as anything can the estimate in which Dr. Philbrick was 
held by the educators of America, and the warm place he 
filled in their hearts. Below are given many of these 
letters. Explanatory of the purpose of publishing these 
letters, there appeared in the memorial number of the 
Journal, under date of Feb. 18, 1886, the following 

EDITORIAL. 

It was our purpose to give a liberal share of the Jour- 
nal this week to tributes to the memory of Mr. Phil- 
brick ; but, so generous and prompt have been the 
responses, and so valuable are the reminiscences, reviews, 
and estimates of his life, that we most cheerfully sur- 
render our editorial, as well as other pages, to the words of 
high esteem and noble affection which flow from so many 
pens. It is most worthy of record that these contribu- 
tions are not fulsome eulogies, nor unbecoming praises 
of Mr. Philbrick. All bear, in their deepest meaning, 
honest and heartfelt testimonies to some trait, quality, or 
service, which are established by the mouths of many 

(123) 



124 JOHN D. PIIILBBICK. 

ready witnesses. We had intended to add our own 
humbler word to these, but must withhold it for another 
opportunity, preferring that the brethren, who speak so 
truly and eloquently, should express their sentiments of 
appreciative affection. Their contributions to his worth 
form a monument as enduring as can be built, having for 
its foundation, a noble, devoted, generous, Christian man- 
hood. We shall be greatly surprised, if our readers in 
all parts of our country do not welcome these tokens of 
regard, which are not only personal to Mr. Philbrick as a 
man and an educator, but are of greater moment to the 
whole body of teachers, as the recognition of a profes- 
sional spirit and devotion, which are the best evidence 
that his life had a purpose, and that it was crowned with 
most gratifying success. With Mann and Agassiz and 
Page and Philbrick among our worthies, we certainly 
have some reason to be proud of our calling, and of all 
who bear the name of Teacher. 

LETTEK OF E. E. WIIITE, IX.D. 

The death of the noble Philbrick has touched me more 
deeply than that of any other New England educator 
since the death of Horace Mann, and Mr. Mann, as you 
know, spent his last years in Ohio as president of An- 
tioch College, thus adding to my high esteem for him the 
felicity of a personal acquaintance. 

I first met Dr. Philbrick in the superintendent's office 
in Boston, the city so long and so highly honored by his 
professional labors, and the acquaintance there formed 
grew with passing years into an intimate friendship ; 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 125 

and, though the distance between our homes denied me 
the close personal fellowship enjoyed by his New England 
associates, I am sure that few of them think of his death 
with a deeper sense of personal bereavement. I have not 
only admired Dr. Philbrick for many years, but I have in- 
creasingly esteemed his wisdom, and leaned upon him 
for counsel and guidance. Few American educators have 
spoken or written fewer unripe views on education than 
he. He was blessed with that poise and catholicity of 
mind that enabled him to look on all sides of a complex 
truth, and especially a truth to be embodied in methods 
of teaching. If he were less enthusiastic than some oth- 
ers, it was because he saw more clearly their limitations. 
His apparent conservatism was the poise of deep in- 
sight and wide knowledge. He held firmly to the good 
that had been tested, while he sought for and welcomed 
better things. 

His reports as superintendent of the Boston schools, 
so admirable in contents, spirit, and diction, and his 
more recent papers on current school questions, will be 
consulted a few years hence as the wisest contributions 
of these days. His comprehensive papers on " City 
School Systems," published in 1885 by the Bureau of 
Education, and on " School Reports," submitted to the 
Council last summer, embody wise experience, patient 
research, and profound wisdom. But I must leave a fit- 
ting recognition of Dr. Philbrick's great services in the 
cause of education to others. My heart calls me back to 
a simpler tribute of obligation and love. 

When I assumed the principalship of a Cleveland 



126 JOHN B. PHIL BRICK. 

school many years ago, I was so fortunate as to take a 
"peep" into a Boston school, through the keen eyes of 
the lamented Cyrus Knowlton of Cincinnati. The school 
thus seen became an inspiring ideal, and greatly contrib- 
uted to my success as a teacher. Years afterward I 
learned it was Mr. Philbrick's school that had been so 
vividly pictured to me, and so for a third of a century I 
have been his debtor. There now lies before me a pre- 
cious letter from his stricken home, informing me that 
Dr. Philbrick wrote his name the last time to attest his 
friendship for me, and that my name was among the 
last words which he uttered. Thus the debt of long 
ago and this last touching honor span all the years be- 
tween with inspiration and benediction ! 

A prince among American educators has fallen ! 
Peace to his ashes, and consolation and blessings to the 
afflicted widow ! 

LETTER OF WM, T. HARRIS, UL. D. 

I feel keenly the grief that comes to teachers and 
friends of education, at the announcement of Dr. Phil- 
brick's death. There is an inner circle of personal 
friends who knew him and loved him and honored him, 
for both personal and professional reasons. There is an 
outer circle who knew him and respected him as a veteran 
authority in matters pertaining to education, and this 
circle includes the entire profession devoted to teaching 
and the management of schools, in every civilized coun- 
try in the world. I would fain lay claim to belong to the 
inner circle, although I have never been officially con- 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 127 

nected with him. I knew him many years as a laborer in 
the same field of work. Indeed, my first acquaintance 
with him dated back to 1852, when I met him at an 
educational institute. I watched with eager interest his 
career as superintendent of the State system of Con- 
necticut and subsequently of the schools of Boston. 

His annual reports were luminous with insight into the 
relations of practical methods to the history of pedagogy. 
He was a city set upon a hill. He never wrote a para- 
graph without considering the relation of its doctrine to 
the theory and practice of the world. The effect of his 
writings, therefore, was a broadening one. Teachers 
learned from him to look at their work from an elevation, 
and to take in its perspective. 

I have often noted his generosity toward his contem- 
poraries. He seemed to take especial pleasure in cred- 
iting others with any good points that he could detect in 
their methods or theories. In this respect his influence 
was specially inspiring to young men ambitious to excel 
in their profession. I should lay great emphasis on this 
grand feature of his character as it appeared from a dis- 
tance. I have no doubt that the memories of those who 
worked near him can supply innumerable examples of the 
manifestation of this noble trait. 

There comes into my mind, as eminently fitting on the 
occasion of the death of a great teacher, the words from 
the prophet Daniel, quoted in the epitaph of Fichte on 
his tomb in Berlin : " The teachers shall shine as the 
brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to 
righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." 



128 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

LETTER OF JOHN G. WHITTIEB. 

I am glad to hear that the Journal of Education will 
issue a memorial number devoted to my honored friend, 
Dr. Philbrick, of this town. I had known of his educa- 
tional work for many years, but had never the pleasure 
of his personal acquaintance until he took up his resi- 
dence in my neighborhood. I found him a busy student, 
deeply interested in the cause to which his life had been 
devoted, but at the same time a genial, unpretending gen- 
tleman, and a very pleasant addition to our social circle. 

The last time I saw him, some two months ago, he was 
suffering from partial blindness, but seemed in his usual 
good spirits. He was specially interested in the educa- 
tional progress of Europe, and in the female colleges 
established recently in France. He warmly commended 
Wellesley College and its young and able president, and 
expressed great satisfaction at the auspicious opening of 
the Bryn Mawr College, in Philadelphia. He was deeply 
impressed with the imperative necessity of the education 
of all the people of the United States, irrespective of 
color or nationality, as the only sure safeguard of liberty 
and progress, regarding the ballot in the hands of igno- 
rance a cause for serious apprehension of national dan- 
gers. A good and true man, who served his generation 
faithfully and successfully, he deserves to be held in 
grateful remembrance. 

LETTER OF GEN. JOHN EATON, EL.D. 

Your plan is most fit. But it would be easier to write 
a volume than " a word " exactly descriptive of Dr. Phil- 
brick, or of my memories of him. 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 129 

I first heard of him when I was fitting for college 
under Dr. Orcutt, his classmate. In my earliest knowl- 
edge of educators I read of Mr. Philbrick as a " Boston 
teacher," then as in Connecticut ; and soon, again, as in 
Boston, and at the head of the city schools. 

In returning East from my year's work in Ohio, I was 
accustomed to see for myself all I could of schools and 
leading teachers and educators. On my first return 
through Boston I learned much, through Nathan Bishop, 
of his first experience as superintendent in Providence 
and Boston. On my next visit I met Mr. Philbrick, and 
his strong characteristics impressed me deeply. In my 
mind were definite questions, some theoretical, others 
practical. In his answers there was no assumption of 
superiority, no brag, no ex catliedra announcements. He 
was a master, — strong, on the alert, but judicial, and 
employing the scientific methods for working out the 
great problems before him. He quoted what had been 
tried here and there, and failed or succeeded, and stated 
what he was trying, giving me most valuable facts and 
suggestions specially available for my study and practice. 
His mind had before it most abundant information and 
theories, but I specially felt his power to hold all in abey- 
ance until their adoption in administration was clearly 
expedient. 

I have been a debtor to Dr. Philbrick in education from 
the first. How many teachers obtained their first hints 
from him ! From this experience of mine I readily saw 
later, when I referred foreign educators to him, how they 
were sure to report the great benefit they gained from a 
visit to him. 



130 JOHN D. PUILBRICK. 

He did not put affairs out of joint. He administered 
city schools, but he studied profoundly the general prin- 
ciples of education, and saw how part fitted part and 
threw light upon the whole. Again and again I met for- 
eign educators, after Dr. Philbrick's visit to Vienna, who 
could hardly find language strong enough to express their 
high opinion of him. Among them a most eminent in- 
spector of normal schools in Belgium, who had taken the 
great step to call to his aid a lady as an assistant in- 
spector, declared himself fully confirmed in his view by 
Dr. Philbrick's approval, and that he prized what he 
learned from Dr. Philbrick about education more than all 
else that he gained at Vienna. 

Dr. Philbrick's representation of education at Paris, in 
1878, was of the greatest possible service. He could do 
justice to any part of it. He won for us the confidence 
and respect of all inquirers, however humble or renowned. 
He and his exhibit, though small, were sought by the 
most eminent students of education. His great ability 
and attainments, his industry and devotion, his skill and 
aptness to teach, all served him well, and none who came 
went away unenlightened. He became a favorite Amer- 
ican guest at distinguished gatherings. The honors con- 
ferred by the French and the " Doctor of Laws," by the 
Scotch University, and the remembrances which flowed 
in till the day of his death, were most deserved. 

The French Commissioner to the New Orleans Exhi- 
bition made a special pilgrimage to Asylum Station, and 
could not restrain his lamentations when he learned that 
the Doctor was in New Hampshire, whither he could not 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 131 

go before the sailing of the vessel on which he had 
engaged passage. 

The great benefits derived from him and his work 
by the Japanese are well known, and have been often 
acknowledged. Bishop Frazer, until his death, was the 
Doctor's admiring correspondent. Dr. Philbrick's mar- 
velous power of seeing a situation in education, and 
meeting it, enabled him to give most timely counsel to 
those dealing with difficulties, old or new. How many 
state and city systems has he helped ! He was quick to 
discover and recognize good work wherever done. 

He set a high value upon associations for the promo- 
tion of education, as will be recognized by his frequent 
sacrifices to attend meetings and take part in them. His 
inspiring a great body of Eastern teachers to attend the 
National Association at Chicago will not be forgotten, 
and illustrates his ideas and activity. What an impulse 
they left behind them, and how much they learned and 
enjoyed ! 

He specially aided in educational journalism as editor, 
writer, and adviser. Who that saw him at Saratoga, 
nearly blind, and led about by his devoted wife, can 
forget him, or his masterly paper, or his wise and delight- 
ful conversation ! Even after his retirement to his coun- 
try home, no great movement in education escaped him, 
whether affecting the entire country, or a state, or city, 
or institution, and he had the courage of his convictions ; 
he stood by his colors. His works will remain to honor 
him and instruct coming generations. What a set of 
city reports is that which he made of the Boston schools ! 



132 JOHN D. FUILBBICK. 

Every one is a study. When has there appeared so 
much wisdom in a single pedagogical paper as in the cir- 
cular prepared by him for the Bureau of Education, and 
published by it ! 

His life covered a most marked period in the progress 
of education, in which he was a most effective actor, and 
in which his name will ever be associated. He gathered 
the richest fruit for his chosen profession to the last. 
Teachers everywhere may well honor him and emulate 
his virtues. 

LETTER OF JOHN S. CLARK. 

I had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Philbrick very well 
for the last twenty years of his life, and of one feature of 
his work I may, perhaps, be permitted to speak with 
exceptional knowledge. Among the prominent educa- 
tors of the country he was the first to perceive the value 
of art education in general education, as well as the first 
to take active steps toward its promotion. I think it is 
generally conceded that the movement for the study of 
drawing in public schools, which, within the last fifteen 
years, has extended over the whole country, had its begin- 
ning in Boston in 1870. How important a movement 
this has been, and what a development it has given to 
education in many directions, is well known to all observ- 
ers of public schools for the last ten years. I do not 
think I do injustice to the many gentlemen who took a 
deep interest in starting the movement in Massachusetts, 
when I say that the leading spirit in the movement was 
Dr. Philbrick. He was at that time superintendent of 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 133 

the public schools of Boston, and a member of the State 
Board of Education. My intimate acquaintance with 
him began about this time, and, above all others, he 
seemed to have clear ideas in regard to how the work 
should be begun in the schools, and how it should be 
developed. In my various consultations with him he 
surprised me, not only by the thoroughness of his obser- 
vation in regard to what had been done abroad, but also 
by his clear comprehension of what was necessary to be 
done here before any success could be expected. 

While his official reports at this time bear evidence of 
his earnest conviction in regard to the importance of 
drawing and art education generally, they give little indi- 
cation of the very earnest personal efforts he was making 
in every direction to promote the undertaking, both in 
the city and in the state. To Dr. Philbrick more than 
to any other one person are we indebted for our Massa- 
chusetts Normal Art School. The necessity for such an 
institution became apparent to him at the outset of the 
movement, and his experience as an educator enabled 
him to see, with perhaps greater clearness than others, 
its necessity in order to carry on the work throughout 
the state. It was through his instrumentality, mainly, 
that Mr. Walter Smith was induced to come to Boston 
in 1872, and in the early years of Mr. Smith's labors he 
had Dr. Philbrick's earnest support. 

The art movement in education, which he did so much 
to inaugurate, engaged his deepest attention to the last. 
The closing years of his official life in Boston showed in- 
creased interest in the subject ; and since his retirement 



134 JOIIN D. PUILBRICK. 

at Danvers he has evinced the liveliest interest in the 
spread of drawing throughout the country, and I have 
been in the habit of consulting him frequently in regard 
to various educational points that have arisen in my own 
work. I always found him full to repletion of wise coun- 
sel ; and I never left him without feeling myself his 
debtor to an extent that could not be paid. His presence 
at the National Association at Saratoga was especially 
memorable by reason of his visit to the Art Exhibition. 
In the excellent work there exhibited from the schools of 
Worcester, St. Louis, Chicago, and Ouincy, he took the 
greatest delight. He was able to see the development 
that had taken place within the last few years in the 
study of form and drawing, and, as he expressed himself, 
" It was the realization of what he could only hope for 
fifteen years ago." As I knew the deep interest he took 
in this particular line of educational work, I was greatly 
pleased that his partially dimmed eyes were gladdened 
by a sight so full of promise to the future of public edu- 
cation before they were closed forever. 

There are so many who will pay fitting tribute to Dr. 
Philbrick's eminent public services that I have felt like 
speaking only'on that feature in his work with which I was 
intimately acquainted. He was a leader and a pioneer in 
the art movement in education which is now going so 
successfully over the country ; and in all stages of its 
progress his labor and his counsel have been invaluable. 

Fully cognizant of his efforts in behalf of this feature 
in education, and his faith in its future development, it 
gives me great pleasure to add this tribute to his memory. 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 135 

LETTER OF GILMAN H. TUCKER. 

On New Year's Day, 1853, I went as a boy from my 
country home in New Hampshire to New Britain, Conn., 
to be under the immediate instruction and direction of 
Mr. John D. Philbrick, who, as assistant superintendent 
of common schools for the state of Connecticut, had 
assumed the charge of the State Normal and Training 
Schools located in that place. My uncle, who responded 
to my desire to "go away to school" by sending me 
there, had a very high estimate of the value of the teach- 
ing and influence of Mr. Philbrick, and, I remember, 
quoted some Plutarch saying, that it was regarded as the 
greatest good fortune that a youth was born at a time 
when he could have the teaching of Socrates. He rightly 
judged that nothing was so important to one in obtaining 
an education as to come under the influence of a gifted 
teacher and a great and good man. 

From this time commenced a personal intimacy which, 
growing into a close friendship, lasted to the end of Mr. 
Philbrick's life. Later, after completing school and col- 
lege, as a young man " beginning the world," I was for 
several years a member of his household in Boston, and 
since have always been a frequent and welcome visitor in 
his home. In these thirty-three years what have I not 
owed to him as teacher and friend ! 

As a teacher Mr. Philbrick placed before himself the 
highest ideal. No man could ever be more in love with, 
or more completely devoted to, his profession. He read 
and studied its greatest authors, and associated with its 



136 JOHN D. PHILBUICK. 

best exponents. And his mind was so receptive and so 
practical that he assimilated all, so that the fruit of his 
knowledge always appeared in his daily work. His plans 
were always broad, and his system founded on sound 
principles. Teaching was to him a great thing, — a phi- 
losophy ; not a mere theory or art, but both and more, — 
the love and pursuit of wisdom. Its aim was to develop 
intelligent, well rounded out, and evenly balanced men 
and women. 

The governing principle of his own life was not merely 
seeking increase of knowledge, — though none pursued 
that with more industry and success, — but growth in 
wisdom. His whole career exemplified this, and he 
became the Franklin among educators. He was, in his 
ripe years, certainly the wisest man in his profession of 
public educator in this whole country, if not in the world. 

As a teacher he was a very strong personality. His 
presence was always a sunshine and stimulus, his enthu- 
siasm generous and unbounded, and dull indeed must be 
the mind not waked into activity and ambition by contact 
with his own. He had a real, personal interest in the 
individual students, studied and recognized their pecul- 
iarities, and instructed and influenced them accordingly. 
The breadth, and I may say height, of his teaching was a 
peculiarity. He was constantly broadening and elevat- 
ing the minds of his pupils, and, without noise or demon- 
stration, continually building up character. The purest 
and noblest aims were caught, not taught, by magnetic 
contact with his own clear and lofty character. The true 
teacher is so much greater than a book as a living organ- 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 137 

ism is greater than a lifeless machine. Fortunate those 
who were pupils of this great teacher, and greater man, 
and more fortunate to have carried his impress with them 
through life. 

To speak of Dr. Philbrick as a friend, — and here, with 
me, only affection can speak. He was a very social per- 
son by nature, and a wide acquaintance among the best 
had afforded him means to highly cultivate himself in 
this direction. He was a superior conversationalist, and 
his flow of talk was always rich and entertaining. Pleas- 
ant, genial, and kind-hearted to all, to his intimates he 
was warm, sympathetic, generous, self-forgetting, and 
devoted. He idealized his friends. He did not see their 
faults, or, if he did, they were overlooked. He dwelt 
upon their abilities and virtues. How he loved to 
recount their good qualities, and what great things they 
could accomplish if they dared and tried ! How often 
his cheerful courage and generous confidence carried 
hope and faith to his friends, which enabled them to 
accomplish work which had otherwise been unaccom- 
plished ! His sympathetic helpfulness, extended during 
his whole life toward young men and women who sought 
his aid and advice, especially those beginning the profes- 
sion of teaching, must be remembered by thousands in 
all parts of the country who were benefited by it. His 
confidence once given was perfect unless basely betrayed, 
and no man was a better judge of character or less often 
mistaken. While he understood the maxim that to have 
a friend one must be one, he constantly helped his friends 
in all possible ways when he knew there could be no 



L38 JOHN n. PHILBBICZ, 

return in kind. He gave more than Ik- look, — he had 
so much to give, and it seemed to enrich the giver as 
well as the receiver. 

in his home he was brightness itself, thoughtful always 
oi others, and here his life was as tender and beautiful as 
his public life was greal and strong, As a host, joining 
with his worthy wife,— always so true a helpmeet to him 
in contributing to a perfeel home, — what pleasure or 
comforl Eor a guesl was evei overlooked, or whal warmth 
of welcome wanting I 

Such, km so Imperfectly sketched, Is a glimpse of the 
greal and good man, John Dudley Philbrick, His earthly 
life is ended. May Heaven enrich the world with an- 
other like him I 

LXTTEB OF THOMAS ". BAKNBS. 

There are some people who must be known intimately 
to be understood and appreciated. Mr. Philbrick was 
one oi these. Those who saw him merely upon the plat- 
form or at a distance wore Inclined to think he was over- 
estimated by his friends j bu1 those who came into inti- 
mate relations with him very soon learned that they wore 
enjoying the acquaintance of a man of no ordinary mind, 
and one who formed his opinions with due deliberation 

and undoubted evidence and authority. I never really 

knew him until I was brought into the eloso relation 

which exists between a master and the superintendent ; 
then I learned how much oi a man 1 was dealing with, 

and how sound he was upon all matteis relating tO edu- 
cation. 



EULOGISTIC LETTEBB. 139 

When one knowing Mr. Philbrick well differed from 
him upon educational subjects, it became him to well 
weigh his own views before deciding that Mr. Philbrick 
was in error ; for he would always be aware that Mr. 
Philbrick never came to his conclusions hastily, but 
always bad well-grounded reasons for the opinions he 
entertained. He was a man who could be approached by 
the humblest of educators and be kindly received, for he 
was a large hearted man, and had a pleasant and encour- 
aging word for all who desired advice and were trying to 
help themselves. 

Although I knew him well, yet I was surprised to find 
that he was even better known out of New England than 
in it. When I was in Washington, in the winter of 1877 
-78, just as he was completing his preparations to go to 
France as representative of the educational interests of 
this country, I gave myself the pleasure of calling on 
him at his headquarters at the rooms of the National 
Bureau of Education. I met there General Eaton and 
other wclbknown educators, and I found that he was 
accorded by them the highest place as a man of sound, 
practical views upon education. It was a matter of great 
surprise to them that Boston would consent to accept his 
resignation as superintendent of our schools, but they 
felt that Boston's loss would be the nation's gain. 

Mr. Philbrick as a writer upon education had no supe 
rior, as is clearly indicated by his many and voluminous 
reports, which show a thorough acepjaintance with the 
progress of education in this and other countries, and are 
in themselves a complete history of the same. 



140 JOIIN D. PHILBRICK. 

LETTER OF SAMUEL W. MASON. 

I really wish I could say something worthy the name 
and fame of Dr. Philbrick, but, as others will write of his 
merits as a man and an educator, I will mention only one 
or two items among the many reminiscences I have of 
him. 

After he had been appointed master of the Quincy 
School he visited the college from which he graduated, 
and some of the students were introduced to him. Such 
was his zeal and enthusiasm in the profession to which 
he was to devote his life that many of us were induced to 
choose teaching as a vocation. I thought if I could only 
be one of his corps of teachers, have him for a guide, I 
should be content to labor a lifetime under such a 
director. 

When teaching in a distant state, I heard that there 
was a vacancy in the Quincy School ; I immediately 
came to see Mr. Philbrick, but found I was too late, for 
another had obtained the place. But my journey to Bos- 
ton was not for naught, as I saw Mr. Philbrick in school, 
and noticed what a power he had over his teachers and 
boys, — what an interest he awakened in his intercourse 
with others, and how splendidly he " kept school." I 
returned to my country school a better teacher, deter- 
mined, if possible, to teach in Boston, and learn how to 
teach by knowing and watching Mr. Philbrick. I was 
connected with the Boston schools when he was master, 
and I lost no opportunity to visit his school and learn of 
him. I never went to his school without feeling my own 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 141 

deficiency and the infinite resources at his command to 
make an excellent school. 

He was willing and anxious to help young teachers, 
and we looked up to him as a safe adviser, a wise coun- 
sellor, and a true friend. 

During his first term of service as superintendent I 
was one of the Boston masters, and I know how we 
looked to him for direction and advice, — never in vain. 
He took a deep interest in us and in our individual 
schools, and often commended us if we tried to develop a 
subject in which, at the time, he was specially interested. 
He had no hobbies to ride, but believed that education 
meant a development of the whole man, mentally, phys- 
ically, and morally. He endeavored to stimulate one's 
noblest faculties to action, to incite him to form good 
habits, and to mould an excellent character, — to make 
him what he should be, a whole man ; but sometimes he 
laid particular stress on a certain subject when he 
thought it had been neglected. 

He always was popular with the Boston masters be- 
cause he confided in us, trusted us, and thought we knew 
how to manage our individual schools. He let us do as 
we pleased if we pleased to do right, but he was not 
slow to point out our faults, and kindly helped us to 
correct them. 

He did a noble work for our schools, and not alone for 
our schools, but for the cause of good learning. He was 
the teachers' friend, and did much to make the profession 
of teaching noble and honorable. His reputation as a 
true educator will increase wherever true culture is 
known and appreciated. 



142 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

The name of Dr. Philbrick is a benediction to us who 
still labor and wait. 

LETTER OF J. L. PICKAED, IX.D. 

To the workers in the broad West the death of Dr. 
Philbrick came as a bereavement. For many years we 
have looked on and criticised his work, but with an ever- 
increasing conviction that his plans were well laid and 
his methods comprehensive. No one knows better than 
those who have labored in fields similar to the one he so 
faithfully cultivated, how hard the task of organizing and 
administering city schools, — hard indeed, when old and 
deep-rooted prejudices must be overcome. Some of us 
at the West have felt the wisdom of his counsels, with- 
out realizing the benefit to us of being able to plant the 
good seed in virgin soil. We may, on this account, have 
been ready to attribute to him tardiness of movement. 
Looking back over the past, we see no retrogression, but 
steady progress. What fitter tribute can we pay to the 
memory of our departed brother than this ? In labors 
abundant, not always appreciated as they deserved, Dr. 
Philbrick moved on serenely, conscious that he was right, 
and in this was his success. 

LETTER OF ROBERT C. METCALF. 

My earliest recollections of Boston schools are con- 
nected with the administration of Mr. Philbrick as super- 
intendent. The number of schools in the city thirty 
years ago was so small when compared with the number 
at the present time that a visit from the superintendent 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 143 

was by no means so rare an occurrence as now. I re- 
member well those visits, and the words of encourage- 
ment that were to me so helpful. Many a time has the 
recollection of them prompted me to encourage others by 
seeing only what was worthy of commendation. Most of 
us know of vastly more faults than we are able to cor- 
rect ; and there is little need that they should be pointed 
out by superiors. 

Mr. Philbrick was kind-hearted and sympathetic. An 
excellent teacher himself, he recognized and appreciated 
the good work of teachers under his supervision. A man 
of broad views, he labored steadily to systematize the 
work of the Boston schools. A close student in educa- 
tional matters, he was thoroughly acquainted with the 
school systems of other cities and of other countries. He 
believed that good schools implied good teachers and 
wise supervision. To procure the former he was instru- 
mental in establishing the city normal school, and he 
hoped to secure the latter by bringing the primary and 
grammar departments under one head, and placing one 
principal over both. 

Under the superintendency of Mr. Philbrick the most 
cordial relations were established between the different 
schools of the city. The masters were no longer rivals, — 
they were brethren, and have remained such to this day. 

The schoolmasters of Boston owe a debt of gratitude 
to Mr. Philbrick that even the love which they lavished 
upon him when alive, the heart-felt grief which followed 
him to the grave, and the tender recollections which 
cluster about his memory, can never repay. 



144 JOHN D. PMLBUICK. 

LETTER OF MARY A. CURRIER. 

It was my privilege to know Mr. Philbrick as a friend, 
a neighbor, a townsman, and an educator. From a child 
his name was familiar to me, but I did not know him 
personally till 1862, when I came to Boston for an ex- 
tended visit. His large-heartedness and his great wisdom 
in all educational matters at once impressed me, and I 
was very soon led by his influence into the public schools 
of Boston. From that time till his death he has ever 
been ready with his counsel and encouragement, and as a 
teacher I owe him more than any other person excepting 
the late Lewis B. Monroe. 

I will not here dwell, however, upon the many pleasant 
memories connected with his professional work, but will 
allude briefly to a phase of his life not so well known to 
most of his educational friends, — his loyalty to his 
native town, and his attachment to the old homestead. 
Amid all his successes he never lost his love for his boy- 
hood home, nor his interest in the humblest of his neigh- 
bors, and his devotion as a son and a brother was beauti- 
ful in the extreme, commanding the admiration of all 
who knew him in this relation. He used to say, in 
speaking of the Deerfield home, " It is the prettiest spot 
in the world to me ; you ought to go out in the field just 
beyond the house and see what a view there is ! " 

Through his influence each school district in the town 
was long ago supplied with an Unabridged Dictionary, 
and improved seats and desks were put into the high 
school. He saw the need of a public library, and in- 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 145 

duced a wealthy gentleman of New York, a former resi- 
dent of the town, to give the money, himself selecting all 
the books. It is called the Philbrick-James Library. In 
his own school district he has annually appropriated a 
sum for a Fourth-of-July picnic, and has, when possible, 
been present himself. 

We had thought to enjoy his wise counsel many years, 
and to do much to express our gratitude for his benefac- 
tions. He is to be laid at rest with his father and 
mother in the family burial ground on the old place, 
which he had just surrounded with a unique granite wall, 
in English style. Here we shall gladly, every summer, 
place upon his grave the old-fashioned flowers he so 
much loved. 

LETTER OF JUSTIN H. SMITH. 

Early in 1878 Mr. Philbrick was selected by the gov- 
ernment to direct the National Exhibit of Education at 
the Universal Exposition, opening in Paris on April 1st 
of that year. The authorities were scantily informed of 
the need for such an exhibit, and of the magnitude of the 
undertaking ; the decision was late, the appropriation 
meager, the educational public indifferent or disheart- 
ened. Had there not been in Mr. Philbrick full knowl- 
edge, prompt action, ample resources, and resolute 
enthusiasm, the enterprise must have proved a failure. 
Warmly and ably supported by General Eaton, the Com- 
missioner of Education, he was able to sail the 20th of 
March with an abundance of choice material secured. 

Arrived at Paris, full of enthusiasm, he found he had 



146 JOHN D. PHIL BRICK. 

not a foot of space, and was only one of half a hundred 
eager and disappointed applicants. The difficulty was 
met with characteristic patience, tact, and perseverance, 
and at last he was given a space of about 21 by 25 feet, 
in which to unfold his representative exhibit of the fore- 
most educational country of the world. 

In organizing and in conducting the department he was 
indefatigable and sagacious, always enthusiastic, cheer- 
ful, and philosophic, never losing sight of his constitu- 
ents' interests, while continually in demand to confer 
with his colleagues of the Jury, attend social and official 
gatherings, deliver addresses at the Sorbonne and else- 
where, explain the exhibit to deputations of teachers, and 
meet his professional friends from Great Britain, France, 
Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Russia, Japan, 
Canada, and Australia. At the close of the Exposition 
his collection was solicited by the French government, 
and, substantially a unit, was permanently established in 
the palace that contains Venus de Milo and masterpieces 
of Raphael, Murillo, Titian, and Rubens. 

Mr. Philbrick brought back to America for his constit- 
uents 121 high awards, — more than any other country 
except France herself received, — and for himself the 
cross of the Legion of Honor, the gold palm of the Uni- 
versity de France, the Doctorate of Laws from the ancient 
University of St. Andrews, and, — the only reward he 
sought, — the respect and esteem of the most eminent 
educators in all the civilized countries of the globe. 

To this work, as to all his professional duties, Mr. 
Philbrick was ardently devoted, and he gave it the most 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 147 

a man could give, — himself, — for to its success he con- 
sciously sacrificed the continuance of his public career, 
and many of the hopes he had cherished for his declining 
years. 

LETTER OF HON. JOHN W. DICKINSON. 

Mr. John D. Philbrick was born in Deerfield, N. H., 
on the 27th of May, 18 18, and died at Dan vers, Mass., 
on the 2d of February, 1886. Mr. Philbrick received his 
collegiate education at Dartmouth College, from which 
institution he graduated in 1842. While a student in col- 
lege, he was noted for his industry and his persever- 
ance. He entered college for a purpose, and he never 
lost sight of it until it was fully accomplished. During 
his sophomore year he chose teaching for his life-work, 
and from that time he studied with reference to prepar- 
ing himself for the duties of his chosen profession. 

On graduating from college he came to Boston and en- 
tered at once upon his chosen work, beginning as assist- 
ant teacher in the Latin school in Roxbury. The same 
qualities of mind and heart exhibited themselves in his 
practical life as a teacher, that had distinguished him 
through the years of his college course as learner. He 
was industrious in preparing his daily tasks and persever- 
ing in the application of his methods of teaching and 
control. 

His success as a teacher attracted attention, and in 
1844 ne was transferred from the Roxbury school to the 
English High School. In 1845 he was made master of 
the Mayhew School. Three years later he was appointed 



148 JOHN D. FEILBRICK. 

to organize the Ouincy School, the first of the present 
system of grammar schools of the city. In 1852 he was 
called from Boston to New Britain, Conn., to organize 
the State Normal School, established two years before in 
that town, for the training of teachers of the public 
schools. By an act of the Connecticut legislature, passed 
in 1849, the office of Superintendent of Common Schools 
and that of principal of the State Normal School were 
united. Mr. Philbrick accepted the twofold office, and 
did all in his power to perform well the responsible duties 
committed to his care. As principal of an important ed- 
ucational institution, and as superintendent of a system 
of schools, he did enough for Connecticut to eventually 
provide for her public schools better trained teachers, and 
for the teachers themselves a more generous support. 

By invitation of the school committee of Boston, he 
came back to Massachusetts in 1857, and commenced 
what proved to be the great work of his life, — the re- 
organization and direction of the public schools of the 
city. Mr. Philbrick was superintendent of the public 
schools of Boston from 1857 to 1874, and again from 1876 
to 1878, and when he resigned his office he left these 
schools the best organized and conducted public educa- 
tional institutions in this or any other country. 

Mr. Philbrick performed some important educational 
service outside of his labors as superintendent of schools. 
He was for ten years a member of the State Board of 
Education, during which time he gave full sympathy and 
cordial support to the State Normal Schools, then in the 
infancy of their existence. He was appointed by the 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 149 

government to represent our educational affairs at the 
Vienna Exhibition, in 1873, and again at the great Paris 
. Exhibition in 1878, of which he made elaborate and able 
reports. He organized and superintended our own edu- 
cational exhibit at Philadelphia, in 1876, and did his work 
with so much skill and good judgment, that the products 
of the Massachusetts public schools were judged to be of 
the highest excellence. 

Mr. Philbrick has contributed much to our educational 
literature by his able public addresses, and by his val- 
uable school reports, which have embodied his best 
thoughts on a great variety of educational topics. These 
reports will be read, I am sure, with increasing interest 
by all educators who have access to them, as the years 
goby. 

And, finally, I find that Mr. Philbrick was a member of 
that association of gentlemen, who, interested in the pro- 
fessional applications of science, and in the practical and 
fine arts, began to form those ideas, which, after strug- 
gling for a long time for an opportunity to make a mate- 
rial expression of themselves, finally, on the eighth day 
of April, 1862, were organized into the Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology, — an institution that introduced 
at once a new and most important element into our 
systems of education. From the day of the organization 
of this distinguished institution to the time of his death, 
I believe Mr. Philbrick was a member of its corporation 
and of its committee on instruction. He was an earnest 
and intelligent friend of the Institute, for he was deeply 
interested in its objects and its methods. 



150 JOHN J>. PHILBBICK. 

In his written words, found at the close of what he 
thought to be his last report to the School Committee of 
Boston, arc expressed the great principles of action by 
which he was moved throughout his educational life : — 

" For upward of thirty years, — all but four in this 
city, — I have occupied, without the intermission of a 
day, various positions of service in connection with the 
public schools. Here my professional career has been 
run. It was the career of my choice, and my highest am- 
bition. My heart has been in it. It has afforded me the 
desired opportunity for making my humble contribution 
to the general welfare. I am thankful for it. I shall 
never cease to be grateful to all who have co-operated 
with me in my efforts to make the Boston public schools 
the best in I lie world ; and I will venture to say that I 
ask no ill thing for the eause, when on parting from such 
place, I pray that whomsoever you shall choose to succeed 
me, he may resemble me in the uprightness of his inten- 
tions, and sin pass me in the degree of his abilities." 

LETTER or iion. BffEIXEN CHAMBERLAIN. 

I have a vague recollection of the late John D. Phil- 
brick when he was preparing for college at Pembroke 
Academy, but my intimacy with him began when I en- 
tered Dartmouth College, in 1840, where he preceded me 
by two years. 

I succeeded him as teacher of a district school at Dan 
vers, and soon found in my pupils indications that they 
had been under the instruction of a strong mind, but 
otherwise 1 had no particular knowledge of his distinctive 
life-work, lie was in one line of business and 1 in an- 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. \;,\ 

other, but I always watched his career and rejoiced in his 
success. I knew him best as a man, and I think I knew 
him well. 

At one time he thought of entering the legal profes- 
sion, and made some progress in his reading. Had he 
finally given himself to the law he would, I have no 
doubt, attained to great eminence in it. He always im- 
pressed me as a man of extraordinary grasp and vigor of 
understanding, equable in its manifestations, and depend- 
ing but little upon external conditions. His results were 
reached less by intuition than by labor, but he had great 
power for labor, and honestly applied it to the work in 
hand. I should be much surprised to learn that he ever 
neglected a known duty, or was satisfied with merely its 
perfunctory performance. He seemed to keep before his 
eyes in all his work the highest attainment. 

1 1 is moral qualities were no less marked. He had 
ambition for honorable distinction, but none other would 
have given him the slightest satisfaction, for his mind 
was thoroughly honest. He was a firm friend, — no one 
was more so, — and his judgments of others were gener- 
ally correct ; or, if there was any tendency to err, it was 
on the right side. He had the power of inspiring others 
to excel themselves, and, by so doing, he acquired many 
faithful coadjutors in his great work. 

Of my own personal relations to Mr. Philbrick I do not 
trust myself to speak. When he died the cause of edu- 
cation lost one of its most able and devoted friends, and 
there are thousands who mourn his loss. 



152 JOUN D. PHILBBICK. 

LETTER OF WM. A. MOWRY, Ph.D. 

John D. Philbrick may well be called the apostle of 
public school education. When he was a young man 
he devoted himself to the cause of education. He deter- 
mined to make it his life-work, and he adhered to that 
resolution to the end of an active and an honorable ca- 
reer. For forty years he was closely identified with the 
interests of popular education ; and during most of that 
long period he held responsible positions in Boston. As 
teacher in grammar, high, and normal schools he was 
ever studying and applying the highest principles of ped- 
agogy and psychology. As superintendent, whether of 
city or state schools, he was always foremost in the dis- 
cussion of fundamental principles which should govern 
in reference to the organization, courses of study, meth- 
ods of teaching, and all that pertained to the work of the 
schools. Now that he has gone to rest, and the leading 
men who have been most intimately acquainted with his 
work reflect upon his chief qualities and characteristics, 
they will agree that above all men he was familiar with 
all that belonged to the province of educational affairs. 

He was thoroughly acquainted with the schools of Bos- 
ton. He knew every detail of their organization, their 
condition, their history, and their prospects. He was 
equally at home in regard to the schools of the world. 
The peculiarities of education in France, in Great Brit- 
ain, in Germany, Austria, or St. Petersburg, were as clear 
to his mind as the alphabet or the multiplication table. 
He was no less familiar with the whole history and pur- 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 153 

pose of education in the past. Upon all these subjects 
his mind was a storehouse of wisdom, filled to overflow- 
ing, and the door standing wide open to all who desired 
to avail themselves of his accumulated knowledge. Prob- 
ably there is no man in the world, now living, who pos- 
sesses so full, so valuable, so minute, and so exact a 
knowledge of all educational history and principles, ex- 
periments and practices, as John D. Philbrick carried to 
the grave with him. 

Another characteristic of Dr. Philbrick was his abso- 
lute devotion to truth. He was always and everywhere, 
and under all circumstances, true to his convictions. He 
was the soul of honor and uprightness. lie was a true 
friend, never failing in time of need. This is a great 
thing to say of a man in this age of the world. The num- 
ber of lamentable failures to come up to this standard in 
these times is so great that the life of a true man, a firm 
friend, always reliable and to be relied upon, is a marked 
life. All this was Mr. Philbrick. Now that he is silent 
in death, no man will dare to say, " He betrayed me," 
or " He failed me in the day of need." Beside he was 
especially the warm, personal friend to the young teacher. 
The time would fail to tell the instances that come to the 
mind where he has proved himself a true friend to some 
young man who needed a word of encouragement, appre- 
ciation, or caution. He was also always honorable as an 
opponent. Never would he take any undue advantage, 
or resort to any questionable methods to accomplish his 
ends. Bold, aggressive, manly, he was at the same time 
simple, ingenuous, honest, and straightforward. 



154 JOHN D. PUILBBICK. 

His reputation was deservedly world-wide. His name 
was a household word among educational men, not only 
in New England, the South, the great Northwest, and on 
the Pacific slope, but also in England, France, Germany, 
Austria, Russia, China, and Japan. The present high 
reputation of the schools of Boston, the world over, de- 
pends, probably, more upon what John D. Philbrick has 
done for them and written and said about them than 
upon any other cause. 

He had a remarkable judgment of men. Rarely did 
he err in his estimate of men or measures. He was 
always a wise counselor. Above all he was a devout 
man. With no cant, no show, no pretension, he was a 
sincere, humble, devout worshiper of God. The funda- 
mental sentiment of his life is voiced in that beautiful 
hymn attributed to Addison, which he learned in his boy- 
hood, which was ever sweet to his ear, and which was so 
impressively sung at the close of his funeral services : — 

" The spacious firmament on high, 
With all the blue ethereal sky, 
And spangled heavens, — a shining frame, — 
Their Great Original proclaim. 

-ff "ft Tf TT "7C 

" In reason's ear they all rejoice, 
And utter forth a glorious voice ; 
Forever singing, as they shine, — 
1 The Hand that made us is divine.' " 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 155 

LETTER OF MOSES MERRIIX, Ph.D. 

As early as 1857 an d 1858 the schoolhouse on Bedford 
street, Boston, became too narrow for the accommodation 
of the Latin and English High Schools, which were occu- 
pying it. The addition of another story was only a 
temporary relief. The schoolhouse on Mason street, 
abandoned by the Girls' High and Normal School, was 
brought into requisition ; then the Bowditch, on South 
street ; last of all, the Primary schoolhouse on Harrison 
avenue. 

Dr. Philbrick declared the necessity of a new building 
for these two schools in his " Third Semi-annual Re- 
port," in 1 861. As time advanced, and the necessity 
was beyond question, he became more urgent in his im- 
portunities for relief. He saw the need of a building for 
the future, and not simply for the present. At last the 
City Council, upon the recommendation of the School 
Board, voted to purchase a lot of land upon which to 
erect the largest schoolhouse in America, if not in the 
world. 

The great fire of 1872 and the financial crisis of 1873 
delayed operations till the election of Mr. F. O. Prince as 
mayor. In his first inaugural he proposed to plan for 
the erection of a building, without increasing the tax levy 
or the city debt. 

Mr. George A. Clough, the city architect at that time, 
entered into the enterprise with the heartiest zeal, en- 
couraged and aided by Dr. Philbrick, whose knowledge 
of schoolhouse architecture in Europe, — especially in 



156 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

Vienna, — and of the needs of Boston, was most valuable 
in forming and completing the plan of the proposed 
building. Mr. Clough writes thus : — 

" The earliest impressions that I received upon school 
architecture were from Dr. Philbrick, as far back as 1871, 
and now, after fifteen years' experience, I have had an 
opportunity to see that his views were far in advance of 
all other writers upon the subject in this country. In 
reviewing my experience, I find myself constantly associ- 
ated with the early views of Dr. Philbrick." 

The schoolhouse was erected within the limits of the 
appropriation, and is a very useful auxiliary to the school 
system of Boston. It is indeed a large structure, but 
thoroughly substantial, and excites the admiration of all 
visitors. Dr. Philbrick lived to see the building occupied 
by the two schools above named, and by various evening 
schools, and to have the satisfaction of knowing that it 
was not too large. 

While we are indebted to many municipal officers and 
private citizens for their deep interest in this project, yet 
no one could more justly claim the credit of urging and 
aiding the prosecution of it, from the beginning to the 
very end, than the lamented Dr. Philbrick. 

All interested in high school education, and especially 
the graduates and pupils of the Latin and English High 
Schools, will ever cherish his memory for what he did for 
the welfare of these two schools. But no one knew better 
than he that it was not an imposing structure that made 
the school. Others will speak of his great and contin- 
uous influence, through a long life, upon the cause of edu- 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 157 

cation in its more direct and positive forms, and show 
that this influence extended wherever popular education 
exists. 

LETTER OF SAMUEL ELIOT, LL.D. 

My acquaintance with Dr. Philbrick was but slight 
until we were connected, twenty years ago, in the Amer- 
ican Social Science Association. In the rather nebulous 
mass of that body there was a very distinctly formed 
nucleus devoted to education, and this attracted him. 
He shared in the discussions of the Department Com- 
mittee, attended the general meetings, spoke at them, 
and wrote for them. There were not many really active 
members. Such as took part, unpremeditatedly and often 
unhappily, in annual meetings, and then disappeared from 
the sight of their associates for a twelvemonth, were the 
rule. He was one of the exceptions, and showed his in- 
terest in the less public work of the association through- 
out the year. He was regarded as an educational au- 
thority, and his opinions, if not always followed, were 
always respected. He represented what is called the 
practical side. Other members took views that may 
have seemed larger, and were certainly more inspiring 
to some of us ; but he stood intelligibly and strongly for 
progress that might be made at once, while that which 
they urged needed a long, in some instances a very long, 
preparation. Perhaps this contrast would have faded had 
the educational life of the association continued, but it 
came to a pause, if not to an end, and those interested in 
it, Agassiz, Pierce, Philbrick, and the rest, were separated. 



158 JOHN D. PTIILBEICK. 

A year or two later I was unexpectedly called to the 
charge of one of the Boston schools, — I might say, one 
of Dr. Philbrick's schools, for it was one he had done 
much to strengthen, and it had recently removed to a 
new building which he had exerted himself to plan and 
to secure. This brought me face to face with him as 
superintendent, and I could see from within what I had 
hitherto seen from without. My observations increased 
my regard for him and for the work he had done. He 
held a position strong in sixteen years of solid service. 
His opinions, generally speaking, were dominant in the 
school committee, at that time a more numerous body 
than the present board. Many of the masters and teach- 
ers in the schools owed their places more or less to him. 
Many of the schoolhouses had been built under his direc- 
tion. The courses of study in all grades had been laid 
out or modified by him more than by any other individ- 
ual. The system of public instruction had just been 
completed to his satisfaction by the independent estab- 
lishment of a normal school. It was a triumphant 
moment in his career, and there were few, perhaps none, 
to dispute the success of his administration. Closer 
scrutiny might show, or appear to show, deficiencies. 
Education had become somewhat mechanical. The 
schools, as a whole, were possibly too much like a vast 
machine. It was the penalty, one may say, of an organ- 
ization that had been painfully perfected, and in conse- 
quence, it may be, of the struggles required to perfect it, 
had become too much of an end and too little of a means. 
But, whatever might be thought of the system, no one 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 159 

could question the zeal or the ability of its head. He 
was seen, or heard, or felt, in every part of it. Its inter- 
ests were his, and he was quick to perceive where they 
were threatened, or how they could be advanced. He 
was contented with it, yet by no means so blindly as to 
be indifferent to its improvement. On the contrary he 
was unwearied in suggesting and in promoting such 
changes as he thought better than existing things. 
There is nothing in the present system, from the plan of 
a school building through all the offices of administration 
and instruction, and all classes of pupils, that does not 
feel, whether consciously or unconsciously, the touch of 
his hand, — a hand that has not vanished, and we may 
say will never vanish, from the Boston schools. 

Of Dr. Thilbrick's personal traits there are others to 
speak more fully. Let me but speak of one, and this is 
the generosity with which he welcomed a new associate 
in his labors. I could not forget if I would, — and assur- 
edly I would not, — the cordial kindness he showed me 
when I became one of the schoolmasters under him. He 
made it easier for me to enter upon a field of work, not 
new in substance, but utterly new in form, and in which 
I might have found greater difficulties but for his sup- 
port. He resigned his office for a time while I was at 
my post, and I wrote him a note of regret which was 
wholly genuine. The last time I met him for any con- 
versation by ourselves, he said, " I have been reading the 
lines you sent me in 1874." "I am glad of it," I an- 
swered, " for I can say now I meant every word I wrote 
then." 



1(50 JOUX I). PHILBEICE. 

LETTER OF A. A. MINER, D.D. 

I am glad to pay my humble tribute to the memory of 
our late distinguished fellow-citizen, John D. Philbrick, 
LL.D., in view of his high personal character, and of his 
valuable services in the cause of education. 

When I became a member of the Board of Education, 
in 1S69, he had already rendered some years of service in 
that body. His large experience in various positions in 
the educational field eminently qualified him to promote, 
by his counsels, the most important interests of the Com- 
monwealth. As a teacher in the public schools in early 
life, and in the higher schools in later years ; as superin- 
tendent of the public schools of Boston, which were in 
no small measure transformed during his administration, 
and very largely through his influence ; and as Commis- 
sioner of the International Exhibition at Vienna, in 1873, 
affording him rare opportunities for becoming widely ac- 
quainted with institutions and methods of instruction 
both at home and abroad, — he became possessed of such 
treasures of knowledge as made his services in the Board 
of Education of especial value. 

One of the most marked departures from the customary 
course of common school studies, during the term of Dr. 
Philbrick's membership of the board, was the introduc- 
tion, into the schools, of elementary instruction in indus- 
trial drawing. In response to a petition from some of our 
foremost citizens, seconded by the Board of Education, 
the legislature, in 1870, passed an act introducing indus- 
trial drawing into the school curriculum in cities and 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. IQl 

towns containing more than ten thousand inhabitants. 
But brief experience under the law made it apparent that 
special preparation of teachers for this work was neces- 
sary to give definiteness of aim and adaptation of meth- 
ods to the end in view. 

Out of this discovery, among other instrumentalities, 
grew the State Normal Art School. In 1873 an appro- 
priation of $9,000 was made for that purpose, and rooms, 
entirely inadequate, in the two upper stories, — one being 
the attic, — of 33 Pemberton Square, an ordinary dwell- 
ing-house, were assigned for the school. Out of this 
very humble beginning has grown an institution which is 
both an honor to Massachusetts and a blessing to the 
whole country. Appreciating this honor and usefulness, 
the State, in 1885, unconditionally set apart a piece of 
land at the corner of Newbury and Exeter streets, worth 
from $50,000 to $60,000, for the site of a suitable build- 
ing for the school, and appropriated $85,000 for the 
erection of the building itself, which has already been 
put under contract. 

The beginnings of this enterprise, now so full of use- 
fulness and promise, were not secured without much 
thought, study, and argument, repeated year after year, 
by the Board of Education, in all the earlier of which 
labors Dr. Philbrick bore a conspicuous part. The 
school was opened in the autumn of 1873. During the 
first year of its history he held the responsible position of 
chairman of its board of visitors, and would doubtless 
have been continued in that office had not his member- 
ship of the Board of Education terminated. All who 



1G2 JOHN 1). PIIILBUICK. 

have been associated with Dr. Philbrick in these various 
labors, I feel warranted in saying, hold his memory in 
very high esteem. 

LETTER OP O. B. CHENEY, D.D. 

I had the pleasure of Mr. Philbrick's acquaintance for 
nearly forty-eight years. We first met at Hanover, 
N. II., as students of Dartmouth College. Several things 
served to make our acquaintance speedy, and to intensify 
it from that day until the closing clays of his life. 

His father, the late Rev. Peter Philbrick, of Deerfield, 
N. H., and my father, as well as Mr. Philbrick and my- 
self, were members of the same religious people, — a de- 
nomination about that time becoming interested in estab- 
lishing several institutions of learning, such as academies 
or seminaries. 

It is not for me to say anything about John D. Phil- 
brick's great work in bringing up the public schools of 
Boston to their present high standard, — a standard that 
makes them, I am safe in saying, a model for the world 
to pattern after. Neither am I called upon to speak of 
his labors in foreign lands in behalf of the cause of edu- 
cation. Others among his many friends who know what 
he has done for this cause at home and abroad (for he 
yet speaketh) will do justice to him in this respect. 

It is for me, in few words, to speak of his interest in 
the work of founding the school over which I have had 
the honor to preside from the beginning. It is over 
thirty-one years since the work of founding this college 
was begun, and, whatever part I have had in establishing 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 163 

and managing it, I have always had Mr. Philbrick at my 
right hand as a friend and adviser. He took pride in the 
fact that the religious people with whom his honored 
father was during his life connected, are laying the foun- 
dations of a college yet to rank among the first in the 
country. It should be said that this college had his 
heart, his purse, and his vote. He was a trustee for ten 
years, from 1873 to 1883. 

All who knew Mr. Philbrick know, without my telling 
them, that he did not believe in having honorary mem- 
bers of college boards of trustees, and as the state of his 
health forbade his presence longer at our commencement 
exercises, he sent me his resignation as a trustee. How 
reluctant the board was to accept it may be known from 
the fact that it was laid upon the table and not accepted 
until a year after, at his persistent request. 

He received his high degree from this college in 1872. 
The record in our last Triennial is as follows : Johannes- 
Dudley Philbrick, Curator, Dart. 1842 et Mr., Superin- 
tentor Bostoniae Scholarum, LL.D. ; Univ. Sancti An- 
dreae apud Scotos, LL.D., 1878; Officier de l'lnstruction 
Publique, France, 1878 ; Chevalier de la Legion d' Hon- 
neur, 1878. 

The number of men who have done more than John D. 
Philbrick to make the world better is small. How sad 
that a life such as his was, — so true, so pure, so noble, 
so unselfish, — could not have been longer ! Yes, it 
must be that he is a living, happy man still. I have not 
a doubt of it, for, if I doubted it, I should be of all men 
most miserable. 



101 JOHN /'■ PHILBRICK. 

" For our citizenship is in heaven, from whence also 
we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
( hiii r our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto 
his glorious body, according to the working whereby he 

is able own to subline all things unto himself." 
1.1:111:1; OF niKAiii OBCUTT, LL.D. 

John Dudley Philbrick, a classmate in the same sec- 
tion, occupying the same line of seats in the classroom, 
and .1 room only two doors distant, 1 knew him well ; and 
having chosen the same profession, I continued my ac- 
quaintance with him to the end. Many kind, apprecia- 
tive and tender wools have already been spoken of him 

since his departure. I beg to add my tribute of respect 

and affection ; for I knew him only to lienor, admire, ami 

love him. 

It has been said that Mr. Philbrick was not " a natural 

leader in scholarship." That he was a thorough and sue 
cessful scholar, his record will show. That he was" not 
brilliant," in the sense this word is generally understood, 
may be accounted for by recalling two facts ; viz., his 
preparation for i • was limited ( fourteen months 

time was allowed hint) t and his aim was not to gain the 
elass leadership and the valedictory, but to acquire a 

broader and more practical culture. llenee, while many 
.i valedictorian has passed oil the stage to be forgotten, 
Mr. Philbrick came to the front in his profession, and 
not onh became a "leader oi men," but "of all the men 
oi the present generation who have devoted then- lives 
to education, •'.-. tost" This fact, it seems 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 105 

to me, affords the best possible evidence that he was, 
after all, a man of " brilliant parts." 

It was well said, " Mr. Philbrick always stood for the 
right, and standing there he never could be moved." 
Yes, and he would fight for it. With the rowdyism of 
college life he had no sympathy. An anecdote will illus- 
trate. The self-styled " Dart. Guards," a band of hazers, 
whose object was to annoy and insult freshmen, came, 
masked, one evening, into his room. His room-mate hid 
in the closet, but Mr. Philbrick, armed with a stick of 
wood, ordered them to leave. Not obeying, he attacked 
and drove them, sore-headed, from the premises. lie had 
so severely punished them that the organization was 
never heard from afterward. 

That Mr. Philbrick was a true, earnest, and helpful 
friend, the writer is a grateful witness. Always atten- 
tive, kind and sympathetic, he at once gained my confi- 
dence and affection, and many times, during our forty 
years of toil in the same profession, did I seek his coun- 
sel and never sought in vain. From no other man have 
I ever received so much help, encouragement, and in- 
spiration. 

But " the great and good man " has gone to his rest, — 

" Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

His book of life, as indicated by the magnificent floral 
book laid upon the foot of his casket by the Boston mas- 
ters, is " closed," but at least one chapter was unfinished. 
During my last pleasant interview with Dr. Philbrick, at 



166 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

his home, he told me of his plans and work laid out for 
the immediate future, and that he was ready to com- 
mence it the next morning. He did commence, but 
could not finish it as he had hoped. Yet " Well done, 
good and faithful servant," has been spoken, and a monu- 
ment has been erected to his memory which will never 
crumble. 

LETTER OF H. F. HARRINGTON, A.M. 

I heard of the death of Dr. Philbrick with peculiar 
feelings. I have repeatedly drawn upon his kind friend- 
ship for assistance, and it was only a week or two pre- 
vious to his death that I received from him an extended 
argumentative letter on a topic of great interest to me. 
I was preparing an early expression of my gratitude for 
the benefit it had been when I was saddened by the 
report that he was no more. 

I have known him intimately since the inception of 
the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, in the Educa- 
tional Department of which he held a prominent official 
station. Deputed by him to organize a distinct section 
of the Massachusetts Exhibit, and repeatedly brought 
into consultation with him on that and other points con- 
nected with the great undertaking, I had ample oppor- 
tunity to test his powers both as a thinker and an organ- 
izer, and I learned to hold him in great respect for his 
comprehensive grasp of principles, and his sagacious 
management of affairs. 

His services to the cause of education in this country 
are well known. He was an authority and a power as 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 167 

long as his health enabled him to take an active part 
in affairs. It can truly be said of him, and it would be 
a proud record for any man, that there has not been a 
forward movement in this country in the great cause, 
which was the paramount joy and interest of his life, 
with which he was not identified as one of its intelli- 
gent instigators and its heartfelt and devoted sponsors. 
The good he has done is his noblest monument. 

LETTER OF A. P. MARBLE, Ph.D. 

John D. Philbrick has, for the last quarter of a cent- 
ury, been one of the most conspicuous figures in connec- 
tion with the American system of common schools. He 
became superintendent of schools in the city of Boston 
when that office was yet in its infancy ; he was the 
second incumbent of the office in that city. The organ- 
ization of the schools in classes, each in a separate room 
and in care of a separate teacher, was adopted through 
his influence, in place of the large assembly rooms, with 
assistant teachers to conduct classes in adjoining recita- 
tion rooms, — a plan in vogue generally before this 
organization. The impetus given to public schools in 
that city by this organization extended itself to other 
cities and towns throughout the country. This organiza- 
tion, indeed, has in some instances been carried to excess, 
no doubt, and there has recently been a healthy reaction, 
To no one man, perhaps, is due the present advance in 
education so much as to Mr. Philbrick. 

In the exhibits of education at the Centennial in Phil- 
adelphia, and at the World's Fair at Paris and at Vienna, 



1C8 JOHN D. FUILBEICK. 

Mr. Fhilbrick was prominent. He has been influential 
in bringing this important interest before the public and 
into a position which its essential character demands. 
Education is now in the foreground among our national 
concerns through the life-long activity of Mr. Philbrick. 
His proud position as an educator places him among our 
national benefactors, on a line with the statesmen of the 
land, — the Sumners, the Garfields, and the Manns. 

LETTER OF HENKY E. SHEPHERD. 

My acquaintance with Dr. Philbrick began during the 
time that I was Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Baltimore, Md., 1875- 1882. The annual convention 
of school superintendents, which met usually in Wash- 
ington, first brought us into personal relations. Our 
acquaintance soon ripened into a warm friendship, a 
friendship which, I trust, has not been dissolved, even by 
death. 

" They do not change who die, 
Nor lose their mortal sympathy, 
Nor change to us, although they change." 

In conventions and associations in which were em- 
bodied the purest and most advanced educational thought 
of our era, Mr. Philbrick was an acknowledged leader. 
Indeed, the position seemed to be spontaneously conceded 
to him ; no one thought of disputing his supremacy. 
Perfectly devoid of pretentiousness or assumption, some- 
what reserved in his bearing toward strangers, he was 
everywhere recognized, almost intuitively, as an oracle 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 169 

whose utterances upon the grandest educational problems 
of the time were to be received with profoundest regard 
and respect. My own opinion is, that the beginning of 
Mr. Philbrick's national renown as a wise and judicious 
educator, may be traced to the series of Reports issued 
by him while Superintendent of Public Instruction, 
Boston, from about 1856 to 1875. The Boston Reports 
of those years are unsurpassed in modern literature for 
soundness of judgment, breadth of view, and definiteness 
of purpose. If collected into a single volume, and pub- 
lished in such form as to be easily available, they would 
prove invaluable to teachers of all classes throughout our 
common country. When I first entered upon the deli- 
cate and complex duties of Superintendent of Public 
Instruction in Baltimore, Mr. Philbrick's wise and dis- 
criminating Reports were my most trusted guides and 
counselors. Doubtless scores of others, who never saw 
his face, can bear testimony similar to my own. The life 
and work of Mr. Philbrick are a striking refutation of 
that morbid sentiment which the Poet Laureate has ex- 
pressed in one of his best-known creations : — 

" The individual withers, 

And the world is more and more." 

The colossal results achieved by such men, despite of 
the most formidable opposition, demonstrate that in no 
age has the power of individual influence, directed by 
rational intellect, been more productive and more resist- 
less than in our own. 

My last meeting with Mr. Philbrick was in Washing- 



170 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

ton, March, 1882, at the session of our Superintendents' 
Convention. It was there, if I mistake not, that he read 
his admirable paper upon the work accomplished by our 
" city systems," — a paper since issued in its elaborated 
form by the Department of Education. To those 
younger than himself, and needing the rare benefits of 
his matured judgment, he was most kindly and sympa- 
thetic. I can never efface the recollection of my last 
interview with him at the Ebbitt House in Washington, 
during the session of our convention. How little did I 
imagine that it was the last ! 

No man of our generation has surpassed Mr. Philbrick 
in serene wisdom, discerning judgment, singleness of aim, 
and continuity of effort. Many of the most excellent 
characteristics of our school system may be traced to his 
inspiration ; his whole life was a protest against empiri- 
cism, mechanism, and all the disingenuous arts by which 
men of lesser mould have won transient fame. 

LETTER OF A. P. STONE, I. I..l>. 

My acquaintance with Mr. Philbrick extended over 
the whole of his professional life. From the first I was 
attracted to him as a bright, pleasant man, with winning 
ways, and an active participant in the early meetings 
of the Massachusetts Teachers' Association and other 
gatherings of school workers. On such occasions he was 
always helpful and inspiring, for he had an intense in- 
terest in teachers' meetings, and his professional enthu- 
siasm, which was always of the highest type, gave a kind 
of glow to his thoughts and words that was peculiarly 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 171 

elevating and enjoyable. As a student of education he 
was profound in its history, philosophy, and methods. 
To the progress of the cause of education for the last 
forty years, and especially in the line of the common 
schools, he contributed his best thoughts and strength, 
and with great success. 

One of the most noticeable characteristics of Mr. Phil- 
brick was his warm personal interest in his fellow-teach- 
ers. For them he always had a pleasant smile of wel- 
come, as well as a word of encouragement and of counsel, 
if asked for or needed. By his advice to school com- 
mittees and superintendents, many teachers have found 
themselves called to improved situations, and oftentimes 
without ever knowing by whose counsel it was done. 

In the death of Mr. Philbrick the cause of education 
loses one of its most devoted and efficient workers. As 
a personal friend I feel his loss most keenly. 

LETTER OF E. C. CAKRIGAN, ESQ. 

"We will sell, or deny, or defer right or justice to no 
man," was a principle of Magna Charta which the barons 
and the primate of England exacted from an ambitious 
king. Upon the key-stone of the free, universal educa- 
tion of the people stood John D. Philbrick, foremost 
among American educators, delaying and denying to 
none the most liberal tuition offered by a generous 
public. Whether a child of the city or country, native 
or foreign born, attending school morning or evening, 
Mr. Philbrick guarded with watchful, parental care the 
welfare of every ward of the Commonwealth, encour- 



172 JOHN D. P1IILBIUCK. 

* 

aging all to the highest possible advancement. To him 
there were known no boundaries in education, and in 
every department of the common school system, at all 
times, he insisted that in both day and evening schools 
" the best is the best everywhere." Urging this prin- 
ciple, he was practically the sole official promoter, if not 
the founder, of our present system of evening schools. 
With the yearly influx of foreign population, and the 
proneness of parents early to call their children from the 
schoolroom to the factory and family support, he claimed 
that a well-matured system of evening schools was but 
the natural and necessary complement of the day schools. 
Instead of committing to the guardianship of an indiffer- 
ent tax-paying community, he wisely contended for their 
establishment under a general mandatory enactment, that 
they might be made a permanent part of the State school 
system. To this end he most freely gave his voice and 
his pen, and added his great influence. 

I remember his happy expression and hearty counsel, 
when I presented for his criticism the bill then pending 
enactment by the legislature of 1883, and which to his 
great satisfaction was passed and approved in May of 
the same year. Though the act provided for the main- 
tenance of evening schools in all cities and towns of ten 
thousand and more inhabitants, he still urged the per- 
manent establishment of high schools in larger cities 
under the same law. 

For evening art and industrial schools he held the 
same generous and intelligent views. He thought it im- 
portant to imitate Great Britain and Continental Europe 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 17.'$ 

in the establishment for artisans and others, evening 
courses, free to the public, irrespective of sex and occu- 
pation. His theory of evening school work was espe- 
cially practical and wise. He insisted upon close organ- 
ization and classification, and, like Guizot, believed that 
" it is the master that makes the school " ; that these 
schools were not designed as an asylum for the superan- 
nuated and rejected teachers of day schools, nor to be 
made the depository of cast-off supplies. On the con- 
trary, he would provide the best accommodations and 
supplies, and give their management to competent day 
masters. 

In his earliest conception of the design, scope, and 
management of evening schools, Mr. Philbrick proved 
himself a wise counsellor ; and in every department, 
whether advising or supervising, as was said of Welling- 
ton, he was something more than a commissary and clerk. 
He was the founder of principles and originator of 
methods for these schools, and a master every way com- 
petent to direct their use to practical and profitable ends. 
In criticising a wrong he was ready to suggest the 
remedy, and his great success in the direction of evening 
school service was but the legitimate and necessary result 
of honest, studious, and intelligent effort. 

As a friend, a promoter and advocate of secondary in- 
struction in evening schools, his reports offer the best 
evidence. Of the Boston Evening High School he said, 
as early as 1874, when it was in charge of Mr. W. Nichols, 
" I never visited a school in the city that afforded me more 
satisfaction than this, and in none is the public money 
expended to better advantage." 



174 JOHN D. PUILBBICK. 

Mr. Philbrick's latest encouragement to the mainte* 
nance of the school of which he was the founder was 
probably expressed to a gathering of a few of his personal 
friends at the recent reunion of the Franklin School grad- 
uates, when, after expressing his great satisfaction at the 
establishment of the school in the High and Latin School 
building, he said, " Our high schools are the most demo- 
cratic of all our schools, but the most democratic of high 
schools is the evening high school." In his work for this 
branch of education his heart was always as generous as 
his mind was great. A staunch supporter of the most 
liberal appropriations for higher instruction in both day 
and evening schools, his counsel and influence were 
sought in everything material to the welfare of the even- 
ing high school. Of the petitioners who urged the re- 
establishment of this school in the high school building, 
Mr. Philbrick was among the foremost to champion its 
support ; and to the day of his death his services were 
remembered by the pupils, as expressed in the following 
resolutions : — 

Whereas, The Boston Evening High School was established 
and generously maintained under the direction of Supt. John 
D. Philbrick, whose death we regretfully learn : 

Resolved, That, by the death of John D. Philbrick, this 
school has lost a most constant and faithful friend, whose 
labors for evening education were specially marked by zealous, 
untiring devotion in all its departments. 

Resolved, That, while we, the pupils of the Evening High 
School, record our earnest appreciation of his services in our 
behalf, we would extend to his bereaved household and 
friends our heartfelt sympathy. 

Resolved, That a committee of five attend the funeral, and 
present to the widow an engrossed copy of these resolutions. 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 175 

Having resigned his trust, and in every department 
rendered an account approved by his Commonwealth and 
country, it was especially fitting that those whom he 
served with such constant, unselfish devotion should thus 
record their appreciation of a benefactor and friend, and 
that we all should pause, if but to consider for a moment 
the briefest review of the life and labors of one of the 
greatest savants of his age and the nation's greatest edu- 
cational public servant. 

LETTER OF J. H. HOOSE, Ph.D, 

The Journal for Feb. 18, 1886, is just at hand. I have 
read it with peculiar and deep interest. It has been my 
good fortune to know Mr, Philbrick, although not inti- 
mately. I remember him with marked pleasure for the 
interest that he always took in me, — a comparative 
stranger to him. I remember the deep interest that he 
took in the tenure of position of teachers. His sympa- 
thies were always warm and right. He was, perhaps, the 
highest type of the practical schoolman, and the most 
enlightened educator that America has yet produced. 

But I write for an additional purpose, which is this : 
You have devoted one issue of the Journal entirely to 
a memorial of a teacher. This is unprecedented in the 
history of educational journalism, and it is one of the 
most thoughtful and praiseworthy acts of these times. 
The example set by you in this instance will have its 
influence upon the members of our profession, for it will 
show to teachers at large that there are many lines of 
tender memories of teachers which are cherished by the 



17C> JOHN 1). PUILBLllUK. 

worthy men and women of our fraternity. This memorial 
will make teachers feel less lonely ; it will strengthen the 
bonds of brotherhood among them, and help on the era 
of fraternal sympathy. In honoring the memory of an 
educator in the manner that you have, you have ennobled 
the teacher, magnified his profession, and honored educa- 
tional journalism. 

LETTER OF PROF. W. H. PAVNE. 

Of the duties binding on men toward their fellows, 
none is higher or sweeter than that of rendering just 
praise to those whose forms have forever disappeared 
from human sight. The tears we shed over the graves of 
our departed friends are unselfish tributes, pleasing to 
heaven and wholesome to the soul that weeps. We may 
thus have the delicious joy of doing a service for which 
there can be no return ; and by this respite from selfish 
emotions, the soul gains strength for a new start towards 
the higher life. 

Mr. Philbrick was my dearest professional friend, and 
his death was a shock whose effects are still vividly felt 
in my heart. My affection for him was the greater be- 
cause out of his own generous impulses he bestowed on 
me his good offices while I was still a stranger to him. 
Soon after he retired from Boston to Asylum Station, he 
sent me warm words of commendation for the expression 
of some sentiment which he approved, and a hearty invi- 
tation to visit him whenever my duties might call me 
to the East. Learning of my contemplated visit to 
Boston in the winter of 1884-5, he repeated his request 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 177 

for a visit from mc, and when I reached my hotel I found 
a note regretting his inability to meet me in the city, and 
again urging me to see him at his home. One leading 
motive for this journey to the East was the pleasure of 
paying my respects to the friend for whom I had such 
veneration ; and the moment my immediate duty was 
done I made my way to Asylum Station. Mr. Philbrick's 
home was a little way from the station, and his directions 
had been so minute that I needed no guide to my desti- 
nation. I was hardly half-way to his house when I was 
met by a horseman galloping towards the little station. 
As he came near he seemed to suspect my mission, and 
in a moment there was mutual recognition. In a few 
moments more I reached the house, and a hearty welcome 
by my good hostess was hardly over before Mr. Philbrick 
returned from his morning gallop to the post-office. I 
find it impossible to express any adequate notion of my 
serene enjoyment during the afternoon and evening of 
that memorable winter's day. I thought then, as I think 
now, that a more beautiful mode of spending the evening 
of one's life could hardly be imagined. Otium cum dig- 
nitate most nearly expresses my impression of Mr. 
Philbrick's life in the calm retirement of that charming 
home. The picture of serene and lovable age that is 
embalmed in the Cato major, I seemed to see realized in 
that New England country seat. 

As might be anticipated, our conversations went far 
into the night and ran chiefly on men and books and in- 
stitutions as they were related to education and schools. 
As is well known, Mr. Philbrick had had exceptional 



178 JOHN D. PHILBBICE. 

advantages for educational observation and study. At 
Vienna, Paris, and Philadelphia he had employed his time 
as an expert in the study of education in all its phases, 
and at the time of his death he was doubtless the wisest 
public school man in this country. He had gathered 
books and documents from all the countries he had vis- 
ited, and his memory was teeming with interesting recol- 
lections of the most eminent educators of the world. 
My professional enthusiasm was rekindled and nourished ; 
and as I bade my good friends adieu on that winter morn- 
ing, I was grateful to Heaven for such examples of 
wisdom, goodness, and content as I had seen in that 
charming home. 

In the July following I visited Boston again, and on 
the morning of the fourth I was again Mr. Philbrick's 
guest. I met the same hearty greeting as before, and 
there was a renewal of the same delightful conversations. 
In the afternoon of that day Mr. Philbrick had his car- 
riage brought to the door and asked me to go out with 
him for a ride. We drove through shaded lanes for a 
a few miles, and then into the grounds of a beautiful 
country residence. Mr. Philbrick presented me to the 
ladies of the house, and soon after there entered the 
parlor a plainly dressed man of dignified bearing whom I 
had observed coming up the lane as we approached the 
house. Mr. Philbrick had given me the unexpected 
pleasure of an afternoon call on one of his neighbors, 
Mr. Whittier. 

I dare say Mr. Whittier remembers me, for I did not 
ask him for his autograph ; I have what is better, — a 



EULOGISTIC LETTERS. 179 

charming mental photograph of the poet, his home, his 
study, his pet on the porch (a lusty fox squirrel), the con- 
versation on men and books, in which, it seemed to me, 
that, after all, the man was greater even than the poet ; 
and, finally, the kindly farewell as we took our leave. 

Our homeward ride took us through Danvers Meadows, 
and past the old Salem church ; and it was twilight 
when the thread of our conversation was broken by our 
arrival home. 

A few days after I met Mr. Philbrick again at Newport, 
at the meeting of the American Institute of Instruction ; 
and still later by a few days, at the meeting of the Na- 
tional Association in Saratoga. Finally, I took my leave 
of him in the parlors of Congress Hall, and was never to 
see his face again. 



ISO JOHN D. PEILBRICK. 



INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE. 



in the Revut PA ,/.v<-, a monthly educational mag- 

.1 ine published in Paris, there appeared, March, [886, 
the following appreciative article upon the character and 
work ol Dr. Philbrick, li was written by ML Buisson, a 
man better qualified than any other in France to estimate 
Mr, Philbrick* s work al Its true value, and to do ample 
justice to his private character. M. Buisson had not only 
visited the Boston schools, while under Dr. Philbrick's 
charge, but had often me1 him at international exhi- 
bitions, and had received him into his own home in Tans 
as a guest, for months during the year of the Paris 

Exposition. It is no small honor to have won such 
an opinion from SO eminent a scholar and school man as 

M. Buisson. 

.10 ll IS l). PHILBRICK. 

iM;iy '-'''• 1S1S Vc[K '■'■ 1888.) 

We cannot let the sad news, brought to us by the 

. oi Boston, pass without giving a 
word oi respectful sympathy and homage to the memory 

ol a worthy man. whose loss the United States mourns 

tO '■l.W. 

Idie reputations of teachers and school superintendents 

rarely cross the ocean from the New World to the Old, 
01 from the Old tO the New. The name oi Mr. Philbrick 



INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE. LSI 

has proved one of the firsl exceptions to this mutual 
ignorance and indifference. Kor twenty years his name 
has been the best known in Europe of all the American 
educators. And this was only just, 

No man has worked more, nor more happily succeeded 
in making known, in school matters, America to Kuropc 
ans, or Europe to Americans. He was by his work, his 
travels, his missions to the greal Expositions of Vienna 
and Paris, his reports, his official publications, the bond 
of union between two worlds ; he was among the firsl to 
understand and prove the incomparable advantages of 
these international relations. 

Such a tribute ol gratitude as has been rendered to the 

memory of Mr. I'hilbrick by his fellow citizens in the 
United Slates, is a beautiful end to a man's life. The 
number of the Journal of Education which is consecrated 
to him forms one of the mosi touching memorials which 
could be given to a man to merit. There are in itaseries 

of tender testimonials, all Coming from men who have seen 
him at his work, all full of fuels, and of an American 

directness, without other eloquence than that of personal 

feeling and sincerity. 

One cannot read these pages withoul seeing how much 

they honor both the man and the <oiintry. A people 

must be great, free, profoundly republican, and must feel 
more deeply than i rii(- phrases cm express, what educa- 
tion is in the destiny of a country, to give, outside of 
official recognition, this outpouring of public sympathy, 
this diversity of admiration, ol gratitude, and respect for 
a man who has been all his lib; nothing bul a school man, 

A man must be of rare moral worth to have acquired, by 
BUI h a work, such a popularity, But whoever has known 

Mr. Philbrick can understand the set rel of his power and 

ol his success. lie was a spiiil upright, guileless, and 
frank, one of those souls who continue young because 



182 JOIIN D. PHILBEICK. 

they remain sincere. He had found his vocation and he 
never left it, even in a country and in a time in which 
men of his ability could find in political life so many more 
brilliant openings. He never thought of change. He 
was of those who love teaching, — let us say, rather, let 
us say as the Americans say, education. He had the 
happiness to conceive this most beautiful dream and to 
live it. 

When quite young he had heard Horace Mann, and 
that powerful voice had stirred him even to his inmost 
soul ; he remembered still, in his last years, some admir- 
able fragments of the lectures of this great patriot, and 
recited them to us with an emotion that made it impos- 
sible not to share in his feeling. Those dying words of 
Horace Mann had been the motto of his whole life, had 
sunk into his heart, " Be ashamed to die without having 
accomplished some victory for humanity." 

Through Horace Mann came to him a sort of vision of 
what a life wholly consecrated to the work of popular 
education might be. Mr. Philbrick was at that time a 
simple professor in a small college. He did not dream 
that for him was reserved the overwhelming task of 
succeeding Horace Mann, and of being for more than 
twenty years superintendent of the schools of Boston. 

He was still in that position in 1876, at the time of the 
visit of the French delegates sent to the Centennial 
Exposition at Philadelphia. 

This is not the place to repeat what the delegates said 
in their joint collective report upon Boston and her 
schools, the finest, perhaps, in the world. Let us remem- 
ber that their organization, commenced by Horace Mann, 
was mostly carried out by the personal work of Mr. 
Philbrick. 

His mind was clear and just, he was always open to 
ideas of progress. He read or saw all that could in- 



INTERNATIONAL TRIBUTE. 183 

struct him, and he borrowed freely from Germany, Eng- 
land, and France all the details of school organization, all 
the methods of teaching which seemed to him worthy of 
imitation. But under all the borrowing, there was always 
something which was his own, and which gave unity to 
his plans, force to his actions, and originality to his 
system ; he had an aim and he never lost sight of it, either 
in the whole scheme or in the details. This aim was to 
make free citizens for a free country ; it was to give them 
education, not from without, but from within ; it was to 
reach the life of the soul, and to make education the 
apprenticeship of self-government. 

How many times in our conversations in Boston, 
during our visit, and in Paris during his stay at the 
Exposition of 1878, have we noticed with what wonderful 
clearness he threw light upon the most delicate and most 
complex school questions, by raising himself with a single 
bound above secondary interests, to judge and decide 
summarily, categorically, in the American fashion, 
according to the single criterion, " Is such a practice, 
such a method, fit to form freemen ?" Or again, " If it 
is adopted, will our pupils be improved in mind or in 
character ? Yes, then it is good. If not, no. 

We design at this time neither to undertake the biog- 
raphy of Mr. Philbrick, nor a deep study of his school 
work. But it may be allowed here to reproduce some 
lines of his, which will picture him better than any 
eulogy. They are at the end of one of his last reports 
to the school committee of Boston ; he is going to resign 
his office, and he cannot help reverting to himself at the 
moment of bidding a last adieu to his fellow citizens : — 

" For upwards of thirty years, — all but four in this city, — • 
I have occupied, without the intermission of a day, various 
positions of service in connection with public schools. Here 



184 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

my professional career has been run. It was the career of my 
choice, and my highest ambition. My heart has been in it. 
It has afforded me the desired opportunity for making my 
humble contribution to the general welfare. I am thankful 
for it. I shall never cease to be grateful to all who have 
co-operated with me in my efforts to make the Boston Public 
Schools the best in the world. And I will venture to say that 
I ask no ill thing for the cause, when, on parting from this 
place, I pray that whomsoever you choose to succeed me, he 
may resemble me in uprightness of intentions and surpass me 
in abilities." 



\ 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 



Boston's Tribute. 



T II E MASTERS' ASSOCIATION. 

The Boston Masters' A ssoci.i1 ion is composed of all 
the principals of the Normal, Latin, High, and Grammar 
Schools, employed in the city of Boston. This Associ- 
ation meets once a month, at the call of the superin- 
tendent of schools, for the discussion of educational 
questions, and for conference in regard to the manage- 
ment of the schools. These meetings arc held at the 
rooms of the school committee, and are followed by a 
dinner at Parker's. 

Here it was that the Boston masters were brought 
into the most intimate relations with Dr. Philbrick. 
Here, more than anywhere else, that they learned to 
appreciate his wisdom, his power in practical affairs, his 
patience, his thorough appreciation of good work and 
honest endeavor, and his constant effort to dignify I In: 
office of the teacher and make it honorable and desirable. 
Here, too, it was that the simple honesty of his nature 
most showed itself, and that warmdicartcd generosity 
which gave due credit to all his co-workers in the cause of 
education. Here were cemented those bonds of person d 
friendship which united superintendent and teai hers into 
a band of faithful friends working for the common good 

(1H7) 



188 JOHN D. PRILBBICK. 

of the schools. Here, in short, he learned to respect and 
love the Boston masters, and here they learned to regard 
him as the ideal superintendent. 

The March meeting of this Association was given up 
to a commemoration of the work and character of Dr. 
Philbrick. Among the addresses that evening were the 
following : — 

ADDRESS OF C. GOODWIN CLARK. 

Mr. Superintendent and Brotlicr Masters : — 

In offering these resolutions for the committee, I wish 
to add a few personal words of appreciation of the char- 
acter and characteristics of our beloved and lamented 
friend. 

My acquaintance with Mr. Philbrick began in New 
Britain, Conn., in the winter of 1852. I had charge of 
the grammar department of the model school connected 
with the Normal School, when he was appointed to 
the principalship, and the following year I became a 
student of the Normal School, and came daily under 
his teaching and influence. It has been my good fortune 
since that time to be on terms of friendship, to go to 
him for advice, and, for the last twenty five years, to 
co-operate with him to do the best thing for the schools 
of Boston. 

His deep personal interest in the students of New 
Britain attached them to him. He set before them a high 
ideal, and inspired them with needed confidence. His 
enthusiasm was contagious, and aroused in them a zeal 
for improvement and for the doing of worthy work for a 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 189 

noble calling. No matter how short the interview, they 
left him with enlarged views and nobler aspirations. He 
was like a charged " Leyden jar" ; whatever teacher 
came in contact with^ him received a spark, and he was 
an unimpressible dullard who was not improved by 
contact. 

I called on him once during a serious illness, when 
visitors were a hindrance ; but his interest in the work 
in New Haven, where Prof. Moses True Brown and 
myself had been sent to do pioneer work in reorganizing 
the school system of that city, was unabated, and his 
faithful wife had to check him for exceeding his strength 
in cheering and counseling us. 

Mr. Philbrick had common sense in an uncommon 
degree, which men call wisdom. He was a needed 
and appreciated counselor in educational affairs. His 
growth in wisdom was continuous and symmetrical, like 
the growth of a tree, and as we who have been long asso- 
ciated with him have grown in years and experience, we 
have not outgrown his judgment, but have appreciated it 
more and more. His consecration to education was com- 
plete. In him was illustrated the saying of the Great 
Teacher, " If thine eye be single thy whole body shall 
be full of light." 

It is human for ignorance and inexperience to speak 
lightly and perhaps disparagingly of our official supe- 
riors, whom we do not know or cannot appreciate. I 
have heard such remarks regarding Mr. Philbrick, and 
it has been interesting to note the changed opinions of 
such when placed in responsible positions. " I did not 



190 JOHN D. PMLBRICE. 

appreciate Mr. Philbrick until I came to this responsi- 
bility," has been the usual remark. 

Mr. Philbrick had a cheerful theory for earnest, ambi- 
tious young men ; it was that whatever happened was for 
the best, and that the lesson they were to learn was " to 
labor and to wait." There are those present to whom 
his words were the silver lining to their cloud of dis- 
appointment. 

It has been said by one who knew him most intimately, 
that he " idealized his friends." I think the charge is 
true, and am sure that he often embarrassed them by his 
opinion of what they were capable of doing, and his 
earnestness to have them do it. What a tribute to 
his generous heart that he " idealized his friends " and 
thought them capable of doing things beyond their own 
estimate ! How many of us think more highly of our 
friends than we ought to think ? Yes, there was nothing 
disparaging in Mr. Philbrick's nature. He saw the best 
in every school, in every teacher, in every school official ; 
he saw merit from afar. 

His charity was Christ-like. " They know not what 
they do," was his feeling toward ignorant and wrong- 
headed officials, for whom he never seemed to entertain 
bitterness or ill-nature, though they would have over- 
turned the slow progress of years, and illustrated the 
saying of Goethe, " There is nothing so terrible as active 
ignorance." 

I once called on Mr. Philbrick at his office, and he told 
me that he had just written a letter of sympathy to a 
member of the school committee, then in his last illness, 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 191 

who, for a quarter of a century, had opposed all his 
recommendations, disparaged his labors, and seemed to 
delight in keeping things as they were. I said, " How 
could you do it ? " He replied, with tenderness, " I 
couldn't help it ; I never laid up anything against him. 
He never understood me." 

Mr. Philbrick was fortunate in his time of coming to 
Boston. There was a great work to be done in harmo- 
nizing and systematizing the educational work, and in 
reconstructing the primary schools in accordance with 
modern ideas and methods ; work that once done wisely 
needs not to be done again. How patiently, persistently, 
and wisely he labored, with no assistant, not even a clerk, 
you, senior Masters, well know, and with what success 
all well-informed educators also know. This leavening 
of the schools was accomplished without the authority to 
appoint or remove a single teacher. It was like the 
genial influence of the sun on the vegetable world. 

He was fortunate in his last visit to Europe, after his 
work in Boston was done, and his able reports had been 
read abroad, and given reputation to the Boston schools. 

The congress of educators from the chief countries of 
Europe, after such an acquaintance as long service on 
important juries and committees afforded, paid him honor 
and deference. His genial spirit and courtly manners, 
united with wide knowledge and wisdom in counsel, won 
the affection and esteem of his associates. Educational 
men traveling in Europe afterwards found Mr. Phil- 
brick the most honored educational man in America. 

As highest summits are first seen from afar, he 



192 JOHN D. PHILBR1CK. 

returned from Europe with the reputation of a leader and 
an authority in educational affairs. 

Mr. Philbrick was fortunate in his domestic relations ; 
his devoted wife was a hearty co-worker in his plans. 
She was an ideal companion in her hospitality to his 
friends, and in her sympathy with his aspirations. His 
domestic life was congenial to his heart and stimulating 
to his ambition. 

Mr. Philbrick was not blessed with children, but he 
gave his life to educate the children of others. He took 
the children of Boston in his arms and blessed them. 
Let us, above all men, speak his name with loyalty to 
his memory, with gratitude for his great service, with 
reverence and admiration for his character, and affec- 
tionate remembrance of his friendship. 

Let us ask that a noble schoolhouse be named for him 
who did so much for Boston schools. 

ADDRESS OF ROBERT SWAN. 

Mr, Superintendent and Brethren : — 

It was not my privilege to enjoy intimate personal 
relations with Dr. Philbrick, but it was my privilege to 
be the master of a school during the whole time of his 
administration of the office of superintendent ; and I can 
certify without bias to the manner in which his duties 
were performed. 

My first knowledge of Mr. Philbrick was at the time 
of his appointment as writing-master of the Mayhew 
School, forty years ago. The schools were then on the 
old system, so called, each with a grammar and a writing 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 193 

master, the scholars alternating, morning and afternoon. 
My brother, William D. Swan, was master in the 
Grammar Department, and, consequently, I was fully 
informed in regard to the enthusiasm and ability with 
which Mr. Philbrick discharged the duties of his 
position. There were two large halls, in each of which 
there were four teachers and two hundred boys, the 
master at one end of the room, an usher at the other, 
with two female teachers between them, who retired with 
half a class at a time to recitation rooms. What a school 
of experience for a young master! 

His success here pointed to him, emphatically, as the 
man to take charge of the new Quincy school, the build- 
ing for which was then in progress of erection, and he 
was transferred to this position, leaving the Mayhew 
with Mr. Swan as sole master, and inaugurating the 
Quincy with single classrooms, on the new system with 
a single head. There is no need of reciting the story of 
his great success in the new school. The two schools 
were so conducted that the old system, though strenu- 
ously supported by its advocates, was abandoned, and the 
new order became general, and is in vogue at the present 
time. 

The next step in progress in the school system was the 
permission from the legislature for the city to appoint a 
superintendent of schools, and Mr. Philbrick was a prom- 
inent candidate for the place. Mr. Bishop, who had been, 
for some time previous, superintendent of the Providence 
schools, was chosen, and Mr. Philbrick soon after 
resigned his mastership in Boston to take charge of a 



194 JOUN B. PUILBRICK. 

normal school in Connecticut. The gentleman opposite 
has spoken of the good fortune that always attended 
Mr. Philbrick, and we can now appreciate how fortunate 
he was in not succeeding in his first application for the 
position of superintendent, for the experience in Connec- 
ticut was absolutely necessary to properly prepare him 
for his great work, which he afterward so successfully 
matured, of perfecting a school system for Boston. 

Mr. Bishop soon resigned, and Mr. Philbrick was then 
appointed without opposition. When he commenced his 
duties, the Grammar and Primary School committees 
were entirely separate organizations, the Primary Commit- 
tee being chosen by the Grammar Board from names sent 
in to them by individuals who were willing to serve in 
that capacity. Each primary schoolroom contained all 
the classes of the primary grade. The law was changed, 
bringing all the schools under one Board, and, later, the 
schools were organized in groups of six classes, each class 
in a separate room. Then came the placing of the pri- 
mary schools under the supervision of the masters of the 
districts, thus making a systematic grading from the 
child's entering the schools, at five years of age, till the 
graduation from the grammar school at fifteen. The 
magnitude of this improvement, in accomplishing which 
Mr. Philbrick was the leading, directing spirit, those 
listening to me can fully appreciate. 

Mr. Philbrick's influence was powerful in advancing 
the status of the teacher's calling in the estimation of 
the public, and in thus increasing their compensation. 
The salaries in many instances are now double what were 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 195 

paid in 1857, calling in superior service, and attaching 
men to the occupation for life, rather than, as was too 
often the case in former times, making teaching a tem- 
porary expedient to provide the means to pursue some 
one of the professions. 

I might enumerate the judicious programme prepared 
for the schools, the establishment of the Normal School 
for girls, the advancement of industrial work, now 
so popular but in former years lacking support among 
educators, and other elements of progress all around us, 
but the minds of most present are too familiar with his 
later work to make such enumeration in this presence 
necessary. Our thoughts at this time turn to him as the 
leading educator among the many noble men who have 
labored among us. 

Dr. Philbrick was considered by some a timid man, but 
what was thought timidity was only extreme carefulness. 
He fully surveyed the whole field before making any 
important change, and his sagacity was such that, 
throughout his whole term of service, there was con- 
stant progress. There was never at any time a necessity 
for taking any step backwards. 

Words of eulogy are too often exaggerated, and awaken 
in those who hear them painful comparison with the 
person's actual character ; but to-night no sentiment of 
the kind suggests itself to any one present. We have 
listened to words truthful and sincere, bearing the cor- 
responding impress from the depths of feeling. If any 
other token of the estimation in which our departed 
friend was held was necessary, the throng of men, edu- 



L96 JOHN i>. PHILBRICK. 

cators from various parts of the state, who braved the 
most inclement day of the winter to stand sorrowing 
about his body in the beautiful home made desolate by 
his death, would attest the love and esteem in which he 
was held by those who had known him longest and best. 

ADDRESS OF JOSHUA BATES, IX. I). 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen of tlic Masters' Association : 

I desire on this occasion to add my testimony to the 
many expressions of regard which have already been 
uttered in appreciation of our departed friend, the Hon. 
John D. Philbrick. 

Born in the Granite State, of worthy parentage, Dr. 
Philbrick, amidst comfortable surroundings, was trained 
by the circumstances of his early life to habits of industry, 
and patient labor. lie early learned that success in 
life could be secured only by personal effort and close 
application to all duties. It is a prominent characteristic 
of our republican institutions that many a boy early learns 
that he must depend on his own resources, often under 
almost insurmountable difficulties, in order to reach posi- 
tions of usefulness and honor. 

In the school, academy, and college, we find young 
Philbrick the vigorous boy, the industrious young man, 
assiduously devoting his time and talents to the faithful 
performance of all requirements. 

Early in life, he made the decision to devote his ener- 
gies to the profession of teaching. He was not, per- 
haps, what could be called a genius ; yet his applica- 
tion was so untiring that he accomplished by industry 



BOSTON 'IS TRIBUTE. 11.(7 

what genius often fails to do. lie had unlimited influ- 
ence with his classmates, and was thoroughly appreciated 
and respected by all the college officers. 

Success in discipline and instruction in his first school 
experiences, led him soon to find and secure positions 
that developed great executive ability in all educational 
organization and administration. Blest in youth with 
robust health and a mind acute and vigorous, with a keen 
sense of moral rectitude, we find Dr. Philbrick in his 
manhood equipped and ready for all undertakings, how- 
ever laborious and difficult. His character was remark- 
able for strong common sense, symmetry, and complete- 
ness. He had a clear, intuitive insight into the charac- 
ter of men, as well as the relation and fitness of things. 
He exhibited, in a remarkable degree, kindness of heart 
and gentleness of spirit, but also uncommon strength of 
purpose. His social qualities were of a high order ; he 
was always cheerful and affable, which, with a cultivated 
intellect and courteous manner, made him the most de- 
lightful of companions. He acquired knowledge by con- 
stant study and retained it with great tenacity, and was 
able to apply it with skill and efficiency. His per- 
ceptive faculties were quick and his memory ready 
and retentive, so that in company, at home, and in his 
travels, he was at school, gathering knowledge for future 
use. He kindly sympathized with all teachers desirous 
to do their duty, and aided them in all their trials by 
judicious encouragement and advice. 

My acquaintance with Dr. Philbrick dates from the 
year 1844, while he was connected as usher with the 



1<J8 JOHN i>. PHILBBICE. 

English High School. On the organization of the Quincy 

School in 1848, and tin- appointment of Dr. Philbrick as 
its master, I SOOn learned the worth and value of his com- 
panionship. Owing to tin* proximity of the Quincy and 
Brimmer districts, we naturally had occasion to consult 
on matters pertaining to our respective schools, and 

thus vvc became quite intimate. Such was the harmony 
of our views on all educational subjects, thai our hitherto 
casual meetings were changed tofrequenl interviews, that 
ripened into mutual and warm friendship, which contin- 
ued uninterrupted to the last. 

I propose- to speak brielly of Dr. Philbrick, as some of 
this association of masters knew him in years past ill 
friendly and professional intercourse, calling up in plea 

in", reminiscences some characteristics familiar to those 
of us who were associated with him in social life and in 

educal ional work. 

The social element in his character and his genial 
nature were such as to gather around him a host of 
hi. aids; and the; (piiet but Sterling integrity of the man 

created confidence in all who secured his friendship. 
Any one at all acquainted with our friend must have par- 
ticularly noticed his calm demeanor, fortitude, and noble 
bearing undei ill circumstances, either of success or dis- 
couragement, in his professional life. Dr. Philbrick's 

character never shone brighter than when he was sur- 
rounded by difficulties and trials. Such firmness and 
dignity, SUCh undisturbed peace of mind, such conscious- 
ness of no wrong-doing, — for his natural frankness for- 
bade all duplicity, — ami such manly and Christian resig- 



BOSTON'S TBIBUTE. L99 

nation gave a peculiar loveliness to the man, and all his 
friends admired his noble bearing under all trials and 
oppositions. 

Dr. 1'hilbrick, after carefully and thoroughly investi- 
gating any subject, and becoming convinced what course, 
in his besl judgment, was the proper and honest one to 
pursue, held fast and firmly to his convictions, and was 

decided and independent in action. Jle was emphat- 
ically practical and sound in all educational opinions. 
Jle was distinguished for completeness in mental endow- 
ments, and was so well stoi I'd with good common sense 
that he could not brook or sustain any sensational or 
empirical notions in any department of his work ; bul be 

was never rude or offensive in bis opposition to wbal he 
considered unsound and visionary theories. He labored 
constantly and aimed conscientiously to encourage and 
sustain all methods in discipline and teaching that would 
lead to thorough instruction and complete scholarship, 
lb: so heartily and truly desired Substantial and definite 
results, that he totally ignored all shams and all desultory 
and uncertain nut bod:,. lie was far more willing to 

submit peaceably to defeat, than ignobly to compromise, 
or substitute any system that would encourage super- 

fi< ial teaching and the fanciful schemes of modern 
agitators. In this particular he ranks pre-eminent for 
honesty and unflinching purpose in all undertakings. 
While some constantly Cater for public approbation, and 
shift and turn to gain applause, be was ever truly and 
perscvcringly committed to such methods as would con- 
duce to practical and genuine results. 



200 JOHN 1). PHILBBICK. 

In his domestic, social, and public life we know his 
worth, as an affectionate husband, a faithful brother 
teacher, and more recently as a wise, conservative, and 
judicious superintendent and director of all school ad- 
ministrations ; we well know how earnestly and inde- 
pendently he devoted himself to duty, and the deep 
interest he ever felt in all teachers and their profession ; 
and how kindly and patiently he always listened to any 
suggestions and inquiries, and never in an authoritative 
manner forced his opinions on any one. 

Dr. Philbrick will ever hold a high rank as a clear and 
vigorous interpreter of the best educational methods. 
He wrote from the amplest intellectual resources and 
from deliberate thought. He had the rarest opportu- 
nities, both in this country and abroad, and by study and 
personal observation he became familiar with various 
systems in education, and learned to utilize philosophical 
deductions therefrom, so that he may justly be ranked 
among the foremost exponents of pedagogical science in 
the world. 

His reports, lectures, and essays on various subjects 
of school interest and importance are prolific and thor- 
ough, and designate him as the highest authority in all 
questions of popular education. His series of school 
reports, as superintendent of the Boston schools, will 
ever be prized for the great amount of sound, practical 
information they contain, and as highly important con- 
tributions to school literature. His recent admirable 
circular of the Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C, 
entitled, " City School Systems of the United States," 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 201 

may justly be considered almost unrivalled, as the ablest 
and fullest document on educational matters, that has 
yet been issued from the American press ; thorough, pro- 
found, and completely covering all the ground in educa- 
tional investigation. The wide range of topics so ably 
considered and analyzed, and the rare power of observa- 
tion brought to bear on all subjects of organization and 
methods of instruction, for city schools especially, give 
the entire report a remarkable interest, and assign the 
author a prominent place in educational science. 

Dr. Philbrick expressed the hope, if health and 
strength permitted, to write the History of American 
Education. He was engaged at the time of his death on 
some important papers ; and it is to be hoped he has left 
complete additions to his already valuable publications. 
Says the poet Whittier, for many years the friend and 
neighbor of Dr. Philbrick, "lie leaves a noble record, 
and his name will long be cherished as a wise and suc- 
cessful friend of learning, and as a worthy and upright 
citizen"; and his friend, General Eaton, recently United 
States Commissioner of Education, bears this testimony 
to his work : "An able, scholarly, and noble man, dear 
friend, great educator, full of knowledge, wise to plan and 
faithful to execute, his death is a calamity to sound learn- 
ing the world over." What higher eulogiums could be 
engraven on the monument of any man, than such praise, 
emanating from men ranking high in literary attainment 
and scholarship. 

Dr. Philbrick always took a deep interest in this Asso- 
ciation, believing in a full and free discussion of all 



202 JOHN D. PUILBRICK. 

subjects pertaining to the best welfare of the schools. 
As a presiding officer, he presented his views with 
clearness and sincerity. He never in a dictatorial or 
offensive manner urged the adoption of any measure, 
but waited patiently till all became satisfied that his 
suggestions and recommendations would conduce to the 
best interests of the schools. 

The important lesson to be drawn from such a life of 
upright and independent action as vitalized the whole 
being of Dr. Philbrick, should create an anxious desire, 
especially in teachers, to foster and develop those leading 
and prominent characteristics which gave a peculiar 
charm to his public and official life. His defence of 
truth and honest opinion was a marked feature in the 
career of this noble man, and this should be cherished 
and remembered of him, as it is the key-stone of all that 
is lofty in character, and the most fitting armor for the 
greatest in this world's arena ; and it should be the con- 
stant aim of all to cultivate and unfold in their teaching 
that independence and conscientiousness which prepare 
the opening and receptive minds of the young for stations 
of influence and honor in life's career. 

The name of the departed will still live in all its 
blessed influence, not only in the hearts of a multitude 
of friends, but also in most grateful recognition by all 
who can appreciate his noble work and the vast amount 
of good accomplished by him in his industrious life. 

Says Pericles, the Grecian statesman, " The earth is 
the sepulchre of illustrious men ; nor is it the inscription 
on their monuments alone that shows their worth, but the 



BOSTON'S TBI BUTE. 203 

unwritten memorial of them in remembrance." So we, 
my brethren, may never stand by the grave, or read the 
epitaph of him we all so mourn, but we shall often recall 
his many virtues and dwell with satisfaction and profit on 
the noble record of a life so active, so useful, and so 
honorable. 

At the close of these addresses the following resolu- 
tions, offered by a committee appointed at the previous 
meeting of the Association, consisting of C. Goodwin 
Clark, W. E. Eaton, James F. Blackinton, Elbridge 
Smith, and Granville B. Putnam, were unanimously 
adopted, and the meeting adjourned: — 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The masters of the public schools of Boston hereby express 
their sense of personal bereavement at the great loss they 
and the cause of education have sustained in the death of 
John D. Philbrick, who for twenty years was superintendent of 
the public schools of this city. 

He was great as an organizer and masterly in execution. 
To his devotion, wisdom, enthusiasm, and wise conservatism, 
the excellence of our schools to-day is, in Iar^e measure, due. 

His forty-five reports to the school committee are valuable 
contributions to education. They are notable for sound judg- 
ment, wise suggestions, and statesman-like sagacity. They 
have given an educational reputation to Boston at home and 
in foreign countries. 

We lament the loss of a noble man and a sincere friend, 
whose wise counsel was always at our command, whose kindly 
sympathy encouraged and strengthened us in trouble, whose 
enthusiasm was contagious, whose cheerfulness was perennial, 
whose patience was unwearied, and whose charity extended to 
all, even to those who could not understand his motives or 
appreciate his labors. 



204 JOHN l). PEILBBICZ. 

While we bow in submission to the will of an all-wise and 
loving Father, we confess our disappointment that his life was 
not prolonged to serve Btill further the cause which he loved, 
and for which freedom from public duties had furnished the 
opportunity, and his ripened wisdom had so eminently fitted 
him. 

May his elevated character, his devotion to the cause of 
populai education, and his love for those who labor in it be to 
us an example and an inspiration. 

Till; SCHOOLMASTERS' CLUB. 

The Schoolmasters' Club is a social and professional 
club, composed of teachers, superintendents, editors of 
educational journals, and other school men of New Eng- 
land, who dine together several times each year, and 
discuss educational questions. Dr. Philbrick was one 
of the original members of the New England Pedagog- 
ical Society, from which the Schoolmasters' Club sprang. 
lie had always retained his membership in the club, — 
indeed had been made an honorary member. 

At a meeting of this club, held Feb. 20, 1887, addresses 
were made as follows, in support of resolutions read by 
Larkin Dunton : — 

ADDBBSS OF JAMES F. 15I.ACKINTON. 

Among those who have taken a prominent part in 
educational affairs in our day, the name of John D. 
Philbrick stands in the foremost rank. During his 
career in this city, some of us, members of this Asso- 
ciation, were witnesses of his course from the beginning, 
from his position as assistant teacher to his crowning 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 205 

work, the re-organization and successful management of 
the Boston schools. We saw his untiring industry, his 
persistent purpose, his calm patience under opposition 
and provocation, and when the triumph came, we saw 
how meekly and gracefully he bore his honors. 

One of the strong points in Mr. Philbrick's character 
was the rare judgment he showed in steering between 
extreme educational conservatives on the one side, and 
violent radicals on the other. He had a profound 
distrust of all educational hobbies. Always ready to 
examine what was new and promised to be valuable, he 
pursued the even tenor of his way, refusing to be turned 
aside from his purpose by any patent devices or short 
cuts to educational success. 

Another of his peculiar traits, as I knew him, was his 
desire to find out the best side of every teacher's char- 
acter. Too many of us, I fear, who have the supervision 
of teachers, seem to regard criticism as the principal 
function of our office. We seem to think if we find the 
bad, the good will take care of itself. This was not Mr. 
Philbrick's method. He first carefully sought and com- 
mended all that was excellent in a teacher's work, and 
then, in the kindest manner, pointed out what needed 
correction. This was one thing that gave him so strong 
a hold on the love and respect of the teachers of Boston. 
As the years go by, I believe the work of Mr. Phil brick 
in all departments, as teacher, superintendent, and 
writer, will be more and more appreciated, and the con- 
viction will be strengthened that this work will bear the 
test of near approach and strict examination. 



206 JOHN n. PEILBBICK. 

But we are told that Mr. Philbrick was not a threat 
man. No, as the term is generally understood, perhaps 
not. What is a great man ? I once heard Mr. Everett 
say, a great man is one who sets his mark on the insti- 
tutions of his age, and leaves the world better for his 
having lived. John Dudley Philbrick set his mark on 
the educational institutions of Boston, and left them 
better than he found them. 

It lias been said within the last few weeks that Mr. 
Philbrick'a death was untimely. So it was when we 
remember what was expected of him. When he left us 
here in Boston, we had a right to look for ten or fifteen 
years more of active educational work from him. But 
when we look at what he did, his death was not untimely. 
He accomplished more in that fifty years than others 
would have accomplished in a century. So far as the 
true purposes of living and doing for his fellowmen are 
concerned, the span of a patriarch's life was but a frac- 
tion compared witli that threescore years and nearly 
ten, st) nobly and so grandly filled. As we said a few 
months ago of one of our departed members, we look 
with just pride and satisfaction on the record of a full 
and rounded life, devoted, for half a century, to the 
noble cause that lay nearest his heart. 

ADDRESS 01 <;k anvim.i: B. PUTNAM. 

Jlfr. President and Gentlemen: — 

As 1 have known our friend, Mr. Philbrick, lou 
and, in some respects, more intimately than any Other 
one present, I desire to say a few words upon this 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 207 

occasion. As you know, he was born in Dccrfield, N. II., 
and this home of his childhood was ever dear to him. 
Until the timeof his death he retained the old homestead 
in his possession, and it was his delight to revisit it. 
Every rock and tree was a familiar friend. To trim 
these trees seemed almost a passion, and he took great 
pride in their growth and symmetrical development under 
his pruning hand. He often spoke in admiration of the 
scenery, which was so rugged and picturesque, and pre- 
dicted that the time would come when Dccrfield would 
be a favorite place of summer resort. 

His father was a man of strong character, whom he 
much resembled. As he lay upon his death-bed, a 
likeness of his father was placed in my hand, and as I 
looked from one to the other, I was struck with the 
marked resemblance. 

lie spent his time much as country boys do, attending 
school during short terms, making maple sugar, breaking 
steers, etc. He was a young man of courage and muscle, 
and I have often heard him tell the story of the reception 
he gave the sophomores who visited his room early in 
his freshman year. Instead of complying with their 
demands, he seized a chair and with a tiger-like strength 
and agility drove them not only from the room but down 
the stairs, lie was soon summoned to the study of the 
President. lie went with a good deal of trepidation, told 
his story, and waited for his sentence. The President 
slowly said, " Freshman I'hilbrick, you did just right, 
just right. You can go, sir." 

My personal knowledge of Mr. I'hilbrick dates back to 



208 JOHN D. PHILBlilCK. 

the year 1839, I think, when he was a student in Dart- 
mouth College. Having had a little experience in 
teaching, he resolved to secure a winter school in Massa- 
chusetts, and fixed upon $20 per month as his price. He 
started out on foot, traveling from town to town, seeking 
a situation in the town of Dan vers, until he reached a 
schoolhouse painted white, with green blinds. This 
structure seemed to him palatial, and he decided that if 
he could secure a position there he would teach for $19 
per month. 

My father was Prudential Committeeman that year, 
and young Philbrick sought him out and presented his 
application. He was taken out upon a bridge leading 
from the shoe factory to the storehouse for a private 
consultation. The bridge was in plain view from a 
kitchen window, where were grouped the young ladies of 
the family, who indulged in remarks at the expense of 
his personal appearance. Foremost among these was my 
aunt, who afterwards became his devoted wife. His was 
the first winter school which I attended. 

In the spring of 1849 I came to Boston, and was again 
his pupil, having entered the first class in the Ouincy 
School. This was soon after its establishment upon the 
single-headed plan. Mr. Philbrick was its first master, 
and fully believing in this plan of organization, he entered 
with all the energy of his nature upon the task of making 
it a success. He was rewarded by being permitted to 
see this plan, together with that of having a single room 
for each teacher and a single desk for each pupil, adopted 
in every portion of the land. 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 209 

This was the first school to be furnished with a large 
assembly hall. In this he was accustomed to have public 
exercises. These were very fully attended, and aided in 
increasing the fame of the school. His discipline was 
firm, and upon frequent occasions he vigorously applied 
the rod, as I can testify from personal experience. I 
should, however, consider his government mild for those 
days. 

Mr. Philbrick was a man of scholastic tastes, and a 
hard student. Mr. Wm. II. Leonard, for many years his 
next-door neighbor, once told me that when awake he 
could always tell the midnight hour by hearing him split- 
ting his wood for the morning fire ; for this he always 
did when his evening work in the study was ended. Mr. 
Philbrick possessed a great store of educational facts, and 
had them at his command, so that he was, in my opinion, 
better equipped for writing the history of Education in 
America than any other man. This would have been 
for hira a noble task, but if ever written it must be by 
another hand. 

I must not occupy your time longer, but I would bear 
witness to his nobleness of character and usefulness to 
men. His manner was so simple and unassuming that 
some said he was not a great man ; but if the standard 
which Brother Blackinton has suggested is the true 
one, — namely, that he is great who leaves his mark 
upon his age, surely John Dudley Philbrick was a 
great man. 



'210 JOHN D. PHILBRICK. 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The following resolutions were then unanimously 
adopted, and a copy ordered to be engrossed and sent to 
Mrs. Philbrick : — 

Resolved, That the Schoolmasters' Club of Boston desire 
to place on record the following statement of their appreci- 
ation of the life and services of their late beloved associate, 
I),. John I). Philbrick: — 

lie was a man of eminent ability. No one talent, indeed, 
over-shadowed all the rest ; but his mind, well-rounded and 
evenly balanced, was one of remarkable force. 

lie had great power of application. From the beginning of 
his college course, almost to the day of his death, he was an 
incessant worker. For him no pains was too great, and no 
needed labor was too severe. 

His life was given to the cause of education. His profes- 
sion was chosen as early as his sophomore year in college, and 
seems to have been followed with his whole soul to the very 
end. In his view it was a high and holy calling, and worthy of 
the highest ambition of the noblest minds. 

He studied education from the standpoint of history and 
philosophy. No man of the age in which he lived was better 
acquainted with the history of school systems, educational 
theories, and methods of teaching. His very conservatism 
resulted from his knowledge of limitations. 

Mis integrity never faltered. Honesty, both intellectual and 
moral, was a native element in his character. Selfish aims and 
ambitions fouml no lodgment in his heart. He preferred 
failure to insincerity. 

I [e was generous and sympathetic. No man was quicker to 
detect merit in others, or more ready to give credit where it 
was due. Thousands of teachers have been cheered by his 
kind words of sympathy and wise counsel, lie was a friend 
to all who were honestly working for the good of public 
schools. 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 211 

Patient toward those who differed from him in opinion, he 
was possessed of the true Christian spirit of forgiveness 
toward his enemies. His later life was a constant exhibition 
of his conviction that it is belter to suffer wrong than to do 
wrong. It was impossible to provoke him to the doing of an 
impolite act or the saying of an impolite word. 

His life has been a grand success. Wherever public schools 
exist his influence is felt, and will long continue to be bit, for 
good. His mind was clear and strong; his character was 
round and full and sweet; and his life contributed in no small 
measure to the well being of the world in which he lived. 

May we cherish his memory and emulate his example. 

TIIE SCHOOL COMMITTEE. 

The following resolutions were offered at a meeting of 
the School Committee of Boston, February g, 1886, by 
William C. Williamson, a member who had served on 
the old board of school committee, while Dr. Philbrick 
was superintendent. The resolutions were unanimously 
adopted by a rising vote : — 

Resolved, That the School Committee desire to place on 
record their deep and abiding sense of gratitude for the long 
and eminent service rendered in the cause of public education 
by John D. Philbrick, lately deceased. For twenty years he 
was superintendent of our schools. During that perDd his 
efforts were constant and untiring to enlarge their usefulness 
and powers, to raise their standard, and to keep them fully up 
to the requirements of advanced intelligence, and he left them 
in a better condition than when he entered upon his office, by 
reason of his labor, watchfulness, and forethought. He was 
in his profession an idealist, an enthusiast. " lie was a 
scholar, and a ripe and good one, exceeding wise, fair-spoken, 
and persuading"; but he was also a conservative, nol loo 
easily convinced of the soundness of new fashions in edu- 



212 JOHN D. PI1ILBRICK. 

cation ; gifted with executive and practical skill, and with a 
personal influence which made him known throughout the 
schools. In his forty-five printed reports he has placed upon 
the files of this committee a lasting memorial of his learn- 
ing, his good sense, and his sanguine hopes. These, with 
their wise suggestions drawn from his experience and obser- 
vation of the progress of education at home and in foreign 
countries, will afford light upon many questions, and bear 
fruitful testimony to his ability and character for many years 
to come. 

PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICES. 

At a meeting of the Boston Masters' Association, held 
March 2, 1886, a committee, consisting of Robert Swan, 
of the Winthrop School, Moses Merrill, Ph.D., of the 
Latin School, Larkin Dunton, LL.D., of the Normal 
School, C. Goodwin Clark, of the Gaston School, and 
George R. Marble, of the Chapman School, was appointed 
to arrange for holding a public memorial service in 
Boston, sometime the following autumn, in honor of 
Dr. John D. Philbrick. 

This committee decided to invite Gilman H. Tucker 
of New York, Larkin Dunton of Boston, and Dr. Wm. 
T. Harris of Concord, Mass., to address the friends 
of the honored dead, at a meeting to be held the fol- 
lowing autumn. All these gentlemen accepted the 
invitation. 

The meeting was held, November 5, 1886, in the 
spacious hall of the Public Latin School building, on 
Warren avenue, Boston. The public schools of the city 
were dismissed on the occasion. Mr. Edwin P. Seaver, 
Superintendent of Schools, presided. The hall was 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 213 

crowded with teachers, past and present members of 
the Boston School Committee, and other school men. 
The widow of the lamented dead and a large circle of 
intimate friends occupied seats reserved for them. 
Prayer was offered by Granville B. Putnam of the 
Franklin School. Mr. Seaver, on taking the chair, 
spoke as follows : — 

ADDRESS OF HON. EDWIN P. SEAVER. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : — 

We have met to-day, that we may testify our respect 
for the memory of one, the record of whose life-work 
fills a large place in the educational history of Boston, 
— John Dudley Philbrick. If one were to begin with 
the benefits of a mere physical or material kind for 
which the cause of education is indebted to Mr. Phil- 
brick, there would be much to say of the convenient, 
cheerful, often beautiful schoolhouses, which adorn all 
parts of our city ; but it is enough now to remember 
that the crowning glory of them all, — this palatial 
building in which we are now assembled, — is due 
more to his efforts than to those of any other one man. 
And yet benefits of this kind are among the least of 
his claims to remembrance. The visitor to St. Paul's 
Cathedral, in London, is reminded, by the inscription 
he reads over the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren, that 
if he would behold the great architect's monument he 
must look about him. But he who may hereafter look 
for Mr. Philbrick's monument will find it not in marble 
tablet or granite shaft that may mark his grave near 



214 JOHN D. PII1LB1UCK. 

his country home, nor even in the palatial schoolhouses 
raised during his long administration, all around us, 
but in the common school system itself of the city of 
Boston, — and in the vast influence which, through that 
system, he has exerted upon schools and scholars through- 
out this land. 

The three characteristics of Mr. Philbrick which 
have impressed me most were his sound, practical 
wisdom, his steadfastness or courage in defence of his 
opinions, and his ardent professional enthusiasm. In 
his earlier years he was a reformer, and these charac- 
teristics made him successful. Later in life his 
position was more conservative ; not, however, because 
he had surrendered his cherished convictions, or abated 
his enthusiasm, but rather because the later advances in 
educational methods were not fully trusted by him. 

But others will speak of his character more fully 
than I have a right to speak now. It is for me to intro- 
duce to you speakers who have known him long and 
loved him well. Let me add but one word more. We 
say we have assembled to do honor to Mr. Philbrick's 
memory. How shall we truly do that? If all wish to 
honor his memory sincerely, — in the manner in which- 
he would most approve, — we shall carry some of the 
inspiration of this hour into our daily duties, and ded- 
icate ourselves anew to all that is high and noble in 
the great work which he loved so well. 

The Superintendent then introduced the speakers 
whose addresses form the first three chapters of this 



BOSTON'S TRIBUTE. 215 

volume, and at the close of the speaking read the fol- 
lowing letter from R. Kuki, the Japanese Minister to 
the United States : — 

liKTTER Or THE .lAI'ANKSTC MINISTER. 

Washington, D. C, Nov. 3d, 1886. 
Gentlemen : — 

Although unavoidably prevented, to my 
great regret, from being with you in person, I desire 
most sincerely to join with you in doing honor to the 
memory of that very distinguished man, the late John 
D. Philbrick, whose benevolent labors have been pro- 
ductive of so much good, not only in the United States 
of America, but all over the world. I first had the 
pleasure of being associated with him in 1878, at the 
Universal Exposition at Paris, where both of us were 
appointed " Me nib res de Juries " on the subject of 
education. I found him to be a gentleman who won 
universal respect, not only as a savant, but also on 
account of his attractive manners. I was one of many 
who became warmly attached to him, and derived great 
benefit from my intercourse with him, particularly in our 
conversations on topics connected with education. I 
shall never cease to cherish, with the most profound 
respect, the memory of our friendship and of his thor- 
ough knowledge and excellent judgment, as well as his 
eminently admirable character. With the assurance of 
my sincere sympathy with you on this occasion, believe 
me to remain, 

With great respect, 

Yours faithfully, 

R. Kuki, 

His Imperial Japanese Majesty's 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. 



MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTIONS. 



Miscellaneous Resolutions. 



The following resolutions, adopted by various asso- 
ciations and communities in different parts of the 
country will show something of the extent and strength 
of Dr. Philbrick's influence throughout the nation : — 

DEPARTMENT OF SUPERINTENDENCE OP THE NATIONAL 
EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION. 

Alliance, Ohio, March 15, 1886. 
Mrs. John D. Philbrick, Danvers, Mass., 

Dear Madam : — At the late meeting of the De- 
partment of Superintendence of the National Educa- 
tional Association at Washington, D. C, the following 
resolutions were unanimously adopted: — 

Whereas, We, the officers and members of the De- 
partment of Superintendence of the National Educa- 
tional Association, have learned of the death of John 
Dudley Philbrick, LL.D., of Massachusetts, who for 
more than twenty-five years has been an active and 
enthusiastic member and an ex-President of the Asso- 
ciation, desiring to place upon record our appreciation, 
esteem, and love of him, adopt the following:- — 

Resolved, That this Association mourns the loss of 
one of its most devoted and intelligent workers in the 

(219) 



220 JOIIN D. PUILBBICK. 

cause of popular education. As a teacher, superin- 
tendent, and writer upon educational topics for more 
than a third of a century, he has ranked among the 
foremost educators of this country. Wise and discreet 
in counsel, energetic and enthusiastic in action, helpful 
and sympathetic in his relations with his co-workers, 
he left behind him a record full of inspiration and 
worthy of imitation. 

Resolved, That the cause of general education has 
sustained a heavy loss in being deprived of his zeal, 
energy, and wisdom, which have pre-eminently charac- 
terized his long career. 

Resolved, That the Department of Superintendence 
especially desires to recognize the eminent services of 
Mr. Philbrick in this special field of educational work, 
in which he labored nearly a quarter of a century, 
achieving not only a national, but a world-wide repu- 
tation as a superintendent of instruction. 

Resolved, That these resolutions be entered upon the 
minutes of this department, and that a copy of them be 
sent to Mrs. Philbrick, to whom we tender our sincere 
sympathy in her great bereavement. 

W. E. Sheldon, 
A. J. Rickoff, \ Com. 
R. W. Stevenson, 
Charles C. Davidson, 

Sec. Dep't of Superintendence. 



TRUSTEES OF THE PHILBRICK-JAMES LIBRARY. 

The trustees of the Philbrick-James Library, having 
learned with deep regret of the death of Hon. John D. 
Philbrick, desire to place on record their appreciation of 
his worth as a man, of his long and successful labor as an 



MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTIONS. 221 

educator, and especially of his interest in, and his ser- 
vices for the Philbrick-James Library. 

Personally and as a Board we lament the loss sustained 
by his native town and by the Library which bears his 
name. His interest in both was great, and the aid ren- 
dered in selecting the Library was invaluable. 

His thorough knowledge of the wants of the commu- 
nity and his intimate acquaintance with books enabled 
him to make the Library of the greatest possible value. 

We express our sense of the salutary influence the 
Library has exerted, and feel that in it Mr. Philbrick has 
a memorial in the contemplation of which his friends 
may well be gratified. 

We extend to his widow our sympathy in her great 
sorrow, and have instructed our Secretary to forward to 
her and to place on our records this expression of our 
appreciation of Dr. Philbrick's worth, and the greatness 
of his love. 

Deerfield, N. H. y March 4, 1886. 

TEACHERS OF DENVER. 

The following communication to the Journal of Edu- 
cation will explain itself : — 

Dear Sir: — I could write a volume without exhaust- 
ing the expression of my admiration and love for the life 
and work of Dr. Philbrick. But you have no room, and 
I lack ability. Herewith please find an expression of my 
associates. 

Very respectfully, Aaron Gove. 

At the meeting of the teachers of District No. 1, after 
the superintendent had announced by appropriate re- 
marks the death of Dr. Philbrick, at his home at Asylum 



222 JOIIN D. PHILBBICK. 

Station, Massachusetts, a committee, representing the 
three several departments, — primary, grammar, and high 
schools, — was appointed to prepare fitting resolutions of 
respect. 

The Committee prepared the following, which were 
adopted : — 

With the death of John D. Thilbrick, we realize the 
loss to the profession of one of the ablest, truest, and 
noblest of schoolmasters ; of a life devoted to the inter- 
ests of public education, stopped in the midst of its best 
efforts. 

Along with the thousand other tributes that will be 
presented, the teachers of Denver beg leave to submit, in 
token of their respect to his memory, an expression of 
their kind remembrance of his life and works, and of 
their high appreciation of the magnitude and value of his 
career to the school world of America and Europe, and 
offer the prayer that many teachers of this land may 
follow in the footsteps of their cherished friend whom the 
Lord has called home. 

They tender their sympathy, first, to the bereaved 

widow, and, second, to all friends, and rejoice with them 

that the memories of his pure life are so redolent with all 

that is sacred and lovely. 

F. Lee Forman, 

N. B. Coy, 

Denver, Col., Feb. 6, 1886. Helen Dill. 



Queer SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. 

At the meeting of the Executive Committee of the 
Ouincy School Association of Boston, held Feb. 12, the 
following testimonial to the late Dr. John D. Philbrick 



MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTIONS. 223 

was unanimously adopted, and it was voted that a copy 
be sent to the family of the deceased : — 

We, the officers and members of the Quincy School 
Association of Boston, desirous of expressing our heart- 
felt sorrow at the death of the late Dr. John D. Philbrick, 
the first master of our school, lovingly place upon the 
records of the Association this expression of our esteem 
and affection for our former teacher and early friend. 

We deeply feel the loss which not only this Associ- 
ation, but the cause of education in general, has sustained 
in being deprived of the zeal, energy, and wisdom which 
characterized his administration of the various offices 
which he was called upon to fill, and for which he was so 
eminently qualified. 

We personally lament the loss to this Association of 
one of its chief officers, whose hearty interest in its for- 
mation was an earnest manifestation of his affection for 
his former pupils in the school organized and made prac- 
tically successful by his personal exertions and enthu- 
siasm. 

We bear our testimony to his abounding kindness and 
amiability amid the vexations of the schoolroom, and to 
the unconcealed affection which he bore for all with whom 
he was associated. 

We tender to the widow and relatives our sincere sym- 
pathy in their bereavement. Sorrowing at the departure 
of husband and friend, they are yet blessed in the memory 
of his worth and the fact that thousands mourn with 
them, and bear unanimous testimony to his superior qual- 
ities of mind and heart. 

Spencer W. Richardson, Prest.~\ ^ ■ 

B. W. Putnam, First VicePrest. I s/{ 

F. W. Bullard, Treas. ( , c l0 ° 

r* tj Ty c Association. 

C. H. Brigham, Sec. ) 



224 JOHN D. PHILBBICK. 

TRUSTEES OF BATES COLLEGE. 

Dear Mrs. PJiilbrick : — 

The following is a copy of the resolutions passed by 
the Trustees of Bates College in reference to the death 
of your late husband: — 

Resolved, That we recognize in the death of Hon. 
John D. Philbrick, LL.D., for many years an honored 
member of our Board, the departure of one of the most 
helpful and zealous friends of this college, whose valu- 
able services and hopeful spirit, remembered with grat- 
itude, remain as an inspiration to our work ; a gentleman 
of genial and catholic mind, whose services, of inesti- 
mable value to the educational interests of the nation, 
fitly received the highest national recognition. 

Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be for- 
warded to Mrs. Philbrick, to whom we tender our sin- 

cerest sympathy. 

O. B. Cheney, Prest. 

L. G. Jordan, Sec. 

Lewis ton , Maine, July 12, 1886. 

TOWN OF DEERFIELD. 

Deerfield, N. H., March, 1886. 
The Resolutions herewith enclosed represent the action 
taken by the people of Deerfield on the death of Hon. 
John D. Philbrick. 

Very respectfully, 

G. B. Hoitt, Town Clerk. 

The citizens of the town of Deerfield, having learned 
with regret of the death of Hon. John D. Philbrick, 
would place on their records and transmit to his family, a 



MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTIONS. 225 

testimonial of his worth, and an expression of their sense 
of loss in his decease. They recognize the service he 
has rendered to the cause of education, and would witness 
to its great value. They also gratefully acknowledge 
their indebtedness to him, for his interest in his native 
town, especially for his wise and careful selection of the 
books for the library, with which his name is associated. 
Its value is in no small degree owing to his painstaking 
labor. 

They would testify to his worth as a man, and to the 
great good that his life-work has accomplished. 



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